Trust in Others
by Wenfler
Summary: When his Uncle is injured, Zuko kidnaps Katara, to heal him. Takes place around "Bitter work" ZUTARA Other pairings  for the time being : Sukka, Taang
1. Chapter 1

**So, I've had a story like this in my mind for a while, so I decided to try it out : ). Let me know what y'all think please! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any affiliated ideas/characters **

"Agh!" Zuko heard a muffled cry of pain from where he was bent over a mushroom, trying to decide whether or not it was edible.

"Uncle?" he called, waiting to hear if his Uncle's jovial voice would call back. "Uncle?" he called again, a sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach.

XXX

Katara froze in the middle of ladling stew into her brother's bowl.

"Hey!" He protested, as some of the hot liquid fell onto the leg of his pants.

"Shh," she shushed him. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"I did," Toph replied just as Sokka said he hadn't heard anything.

Katara frowned. "What was it?"

Toph shrugged. "It sounded like someone shouting. Whatever it was, it's too far away for me to see," she wriggled her bare feet.

Katara shivered and put the ladle back into the pot of stew, ignoring Sokka's indignant glare as he waved his still empty bowl in her face. She hugged her knees tightly and said, "I wish Aang would hurry up and get back. I'm worried about him. What if that was him yelling?" She stood up suddenly, and an odd certainty filled her. "I have to go find him. He might need our help!"

"Relax, Sugar Queen, said Toph lazily as she ate her stew slowly, sticking her tongue out at Sokka who was glaring at her enviously. "I'm sure Twinkle Toes is fine. I mean, he _is _the Avatar."

Katara sighed. "I know. Oh, for " she glared angrily at Sokka who shrank back. "If you're that hungry, just get it yourself! It's right there, don't hit me in the head with your bowl!"

"Axcidwentg, sagwy," Sokka said, his mouth already stuffed to the brim with food.

Katara rolled her eyes at him. "All right," she said, "I'm going to go see what that noise was."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sokka asked half heartedly. "I mean, I'm sure it was just a bird."

"No, it's fine." Katara shouldered her water pouch, and began walking away from the campfire. "I can manage, you're probably right anyway."

"Always am!" Sokka called to her cheerfully.

"Wrong!" Katara finished. She smiled as she heard Sokka's protestant snort.

Katara crept silently through the forest, taking careful turns when appropriate, memorizing which she went. She was alerted of another presence when there was a series of snapping twigs. She frowned, Aang would never make that much noise. Cautiously, she moved forward, and peered through the trees.

She gasped audibly, an automatic reaction to the sight in front of her.

The person had his back turned to her, but she recognized his stance, and as he turned around to see who else was there, his scar became visible.

"You!" He said excitedly. "I need your help, please!"

Katara shook her head and began backing away slowly, trying to find a place where she could turn and run.

"You don't understand!" There was a hint of desperation in Zuko's voice. "Please it's my Uncle!"

"I offered to help your Uncle before," said Katara, narrowing her eyes. "And you didn't want it. What makes you suddenly want it now?"

"Please," To her surprise, Zuko fell to his knees in front of her. "Please, I need your help!"

Katara's resolve hardened. "No." She turned and started to run, deliberately running away from the campsite. He caught up with her within seconds, and he grabbed her wrist tightly. "You're going to help me," he told her, glaring at her.

"No, I'm not!" Said Katara, struggling to free her hand. When that failed, she reached to open her water skin, but before she could, his other hand was wrapped around her wrist.

Moving them together, he was able to grab both wrists with one hand.

"Sokka! To-" Katara screamed as loudly as she could but she was cut off as Zuko's free hand covered her mouth.

"Shut up!" he growled at her.

She glared at him wordlessly as he led her back through the forest. She made mental notes of the major landmarks that they passed should she be able to somehow escape from Zuko. He seemed different, she noticed that both of his hands were shaking against her skin, and as she looked up at him, she realized he seemed paler than usual.

He came to an abrupt halt in front of a small clearing, and she was pulled back suddenly. "Okay, listen." He said in a low voice. "My Uncle is in there, and I need you to heal him. I don't even care about the Avatar right now, I just need him to get better."

"Whgy inth wrorld shougld I helgp youg?" Katara asked him against the palm of his hand.

The hand wrapped around her wrists began to heat up, and his voice was angry in her ear. "Let's put it this way. You can do a good deed and heal my Uncle, or, I can go find your campground, because don't worry, I know where it is." The grip around her wrists became unbearably hot and she gasped in pain. "So, Water-peasant, have you decided?" Zuko asked roughly.

"Ig'll go," Katara said, trying to wriggle away from his hot hand. She felt Zuko relax behind her, and his grip on her fell away, as did the hand clapped over her mouth.

"He's over here." He motion for Katara to go in front of him, which she did with mild trepidation. Her thoughts were on her water pouch, but as she played scenarios out in her mind, she realized that attacking him with her back turned would end in disaster.

Katara gasped as the old man came into view. He lay on the ground, blood seeped from under the shirt on his back.

"What happened?" she asked, horrified.

"He got attacked by a mooselion," said Zuko, coming to stand over her and watch as she knelt down next to his Uncle.

"But, isn't he a fire bender?" confusion tinged Katara's voice as she methodically opened her water skin and coated her hands in glowing blue hands.

Zuko's hand came down and gripped her shoulder tightly. She stiffened and looked up at him. "Healing only," he warned her, his eyes were cold as he looked down at her.

She nodded. "I know." Gingerly, she peeled back the old man's shirt and swallowed her horror and revulsion. His skin was laced with lacerations as well as smaller scratches. She surveyed the work set for her, trying decide which was the most critical and deserved her attention first. She decided to start on the deepest cut. Cautiously, she reached out and touched the old man's cut. He started and let out a moan of pain.

"What are you doing to him?" Zuko's hand was on her shoulder again, and she winced at the sudden pressure.

"Would you relax?" She batted his hand away in annoyance. "I'm healing him. Pain is part of the process. If you want me to heal him, go stand over there." She indicated a spot a few feet away. "It'll be fine, you can still see me, and I'm not going to go anywhere. But if you want my help, I need you to get. Away. From. Me."

She smirked when Zuko frowned. He moved a few paces away, but not close to the distance to Katara had first indicated.

Katara turned her attention back to the man in front of her, and placed both of her hands back onto the cut. She winced as she felt the blood gush through her hands on contact. Slowly, she closed her eyes and let her hands take over.

…...

After two hours of work, Katara felt ready to collapse. Zuko had not moved from his position, and he started when she turned to face him.

"I've done all I can do for now," she told him. She could hear her exhaustion in her own voice, and she hoped that would as well.

He frowned. "For now? Is he okay?"

"It's not completely healed, and he'll probably be in pain for a few weeks, but it should be able to heal naturally from now on."

"But you, you could make it heal faster?" Zuko asked her. She looked up at him and saw excitement in his eyes that clouded out the worry that had been there previously.

She shrugged. "I could probably speed up the healing process, but that's all. It's not like he'll be any more healed if he lets it heal naturally than if I spent the next couple of weeks doing healing sessions with him." She stood and stretched, her back and shoulders sore form being bent for so long. "And I wouldn't move him for a couple of days."

"But we have to move him," said Zuko. "We have to get him to shelter tomorrow."

"We?" asked Katara.

"Yes." He replied grimly.

Katara began shaking her head vigorously. "No, no, no, NO! That wasn't the deal Zuko! I said I'd help you, which I did."

She jumped out of the way as a small flame narrowly avoided her feet. As she was distracted, Zuko filled the gap between them and once again grabbed both of her tiny wrists with one hand. "Well, you're not done helping me yet," he muttered at her. With one quick motion, he bent down and tore a strip off of his own pants leg and used it to wrap her wrists tightly together.

Immediately, Katara began thrashing against her bonds. "Stay still," Zuko growled at her, "unless you want me to tie your feet too." He left her standing and went to go rummage through on of his packs. He came up with a sleeping mat, which he rolled out and began to sit down on. He looked up and realized that Katara had remained stationary. "Aren't you tired?" he asked her blankly.

She nodded, and he motioned her over. She remained where she was, and lay down on the ground, making a show of yawning at stretching as best she could with her hands bound, before arranging herself pristinely in preparation of sleep.

She heard Zuko make a growling noise under his breath and then get up and move his sleeping mat until it was next to her.

"What are you doing?" She hissed angrily. She felt dismayed as all of her freedoms were taken away.

"Making sure you don't go anywhere," Zuko replied. He reached out and grabbed a hold of her long, braided hair, which he wrapped around his wrist like a rope.

"Let go of me!" She said angrily, trying, and failing to manipulate her two hands to work together to make him let go.

Zuko chuckled humorously. "Sorry, Water-peasant, but that's not how this game works. Good night." He was silent for a moment as he let his words sink in. His next words were softer, and she could hear the emotion buried deep beneath them. "Thank you."

**A/N: Okay, acknowledgment time! Thanks to boredone23 for being an awesome beta! (His story is kinda amazing… I recommend reading when you have free time because you won't wanna stop, and he writes REALLY awesome, long chapters) **

**Also, I realized that the title kinda really sucks, so… any suggestions? **

**REVIEW,REVIEW,REVIEW, PLEASE :D **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Avatar= Not mine **

**Read and review please : ) **

"Get up!"

Katara was awakened by a finger prodding at her stomach. She groaned and tried to stretch. Then she remembered the events of the previous day, as her hands were unable to separate from one another.

"What?" she asked harshly. She remained laying down and faced the dark sky above her.

"It's dawn." Zuko answered. "Now get up, we're leaving."

Instantly, Katara felt panic rush through her. "Why?" she asked. "Why can't we stay here?"

Zuko frowned at her. "You're stupid little friends spent half the night searching for you, they're getting closer."

"So let me go to them!" Katara sat up eagerly, almost forgetting herself. "Aang! Sokka! To-"

She was cut off by Zuko's hand covering her mouth. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He hissed, as she glared at him angrily.

"Get up!" He pulled her by her restraints until she was on her feet. Behind him, she could see the rest of the camp ground was already packed, save for the sleeping mat the old man was lying on. "Now we have to hurry," He told her, and for the first time he turned to look her squarely in the eyes. "If I let go of you, will you say anything? Or do I have to silence you myself?"

Katara shrank back at his hard, golden eyes that seemed to burn through her. Slowly, she shook her head against his hand, and he let go. She remained standing until she was certain he was turned away. Quickly, she bent down, and with both hands together; she tore the necklace she kept around her neck away. She turned to make sure that Zuko was still occupied, and found him grunting as he attempted to heave his uncle onto the saddle of an ostrich horse.

She scrambled to collect a small pile of rocks, which she stacked one on top of the other until it was in pyramid form. In the middle, she buried her necklace. She stood to find Zuko watching her, an odd expression on his face.

"What?" she asked him angrily.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Come on." He led her over to a second ostrich horse, which she stared up at worriedly. Behind her, Zuko made an impatient noise.

She turned to glare at him accusingly and held up her hands. He sighed, and moved forwards. Katara stepped back automatically as she saw him advance.

Before she move anymore, his hands were around her waist and he lifted her off the ground. On instinct, she flailed her legs as they lifted off the ground. She felt something pull on a few strands of hair as she arched herself backwards.

Zuko let out a grunt of pain as her foot connected with his face.

Katara smirked. "Sorry."

Zuko didn't reply, he just moved away until he was out of Katara's line of vision.

She turned to check on Zuko's uncle, who had been secured onto the ostrich horse behind them. A rope connected the two creatures together, with Zuko's in front.

Zuko came back quickly, tucking something into the pocket in his pants. Katara thought little of it, and he swung himself up onto the ostrich horse silently.

"Hold onto the horn," He told her gruffly as he grabbed hold of the reins. She grabbed onto the horn of the saddle as he kicked the beast into motion.

She watched as the forest around them disappeared, opening onto a vast expanse of rocky landscape. Every so often, she would look up at the cloudless sky in hopes that she would see a giant sky bison flying through the air, but each time she was disappointed.

"Where are we going?" She shouted to Zuko, against the wind.

"That's none of your concern," he answered shortly, his voice brushed across her ear like a whisper.

"I think it is!" she said angrily. "I'm helping you. I deserve to know where you're taking me."

She heard him exhale behind her, and he gently pulled on the reins to bring the ostrich horse to a walk.

"Look around, Peasant," He said, gesturing to the immense flatland ahead of them. "Where do you think we are?"

She frowned as she looked for a hint of civilization. "The desert?" she guessed.

She felt his chest rise and fall against her back as he chuckled humorlessly. "So you're not as dumb as your brother then, eh?" he asked her as he kicked his horse back into a trot.

Katara pushed her elbows back hard so they caught him in the chest, and he let out a gasp as the air in his lungs left. "My brother isn't stupid," she growled at him. "And you'd be wise not to insult the ones who are helping you."

She stiffened as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You already told me I didn't need you. _You _would be wise not to injure the one who is going to feed you, and give you water, and give you a place to sleep. Peasant."

Katara kept her posture long after Zuko had straightened with a smirk. Zuko kept them riding long into the night, and Katara wondered how he hadn't collapsed from exhaustion. He stomach rumbled from hunger, and her arms ached from being held in the same position for hours, as did her legs and back.

She longed to ask him to stop to rest, but her pride stopped her. She kept herself occupied by looking into the abyss of sky that seemed to stretch on forever. Every so often she would see an oddly shaped cloud that was shaped oddly, almost like a giant bison, but each time she would blink and it would vanish.

At last, Zuko pulled the ostrich horse to a halt. As soon as he and Katara were off, it collapsed with a groan. Katara was about to run and check on it when she saw its deep breathing and she realized that it was asleep.

She sank down onto the sand beneath her, and watched Zuko struggle to unload his Uncle from the ostrich horse behind them. Like its fellow, it collapsed as soon as the weight on its back was lifted.

The old man groaned as Zuko placed him gently onto the sleeping mat he had already laid out. "You," Zuko snapped at her. "Come here!"

She shook her head and yawned to indicate her exhaustion. "Now." Zuko said through gritted teeth.

"Why?" asked Katara. "I'm tired. And if you were normal, you would be too."

"I am tired," said Zuko. "And so is my Uncle. Guess whose comfort is the most important to me?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Katara. "Let him sleep then. He's been sleeping all day."

"He's in pain!" Zuko shouted. "And you're supposed to be healing him. So heal him!"

"Well maybe you should have though of that before you rode us halfway around the world!" Katara yelled back at him angrily. Then I wouldn't be tired, and his injuries wouldn't be aggravated by the constant motion! I'm too tired to help him right now. It won't do any good."

Zuko was at her side before she could blink, dragging her to her feet. "I'll be the judge of that," he said.

"Let go of me!" She shouted. Using all of her strength, she struck out and kicked him in the shin.

She felt his weight give out, and he fell, dragging her down with him.

He glared at her. "Bad move."

She frowned. "Then maybe you shouldn't have pulled me up like that!"

She began to stand and trudge over to the old man's sleeping form. "Zuko," she called to him, holding up her wrists so he could untie her.

He did, and murmured his warning once more. "Healing only."

He stood back and watched as she gently eased his uncle's shirt off, to reveal numerous interlacing cuts and bruises as well as burn marks, which corresponded to his last run in with his niece.

With shaking hands, she uncapped the water skin that lay next to her. She coated her hands with the familiar, glowing blue water, and set them on his back.

The water flowed beneath her, and she let herself be lulled by its calming, rhythmic, motions.

She was barely aware of the water slipping through her grasp, or when her head hit the soft sand beneath her.

…..

When she woke up, she found her hands were bound again. She sat up slowly, looking around.

"It's about time." The voice came from behind her, and she turned to find Zuko staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I thought you were never going to get up," he stretched as if flaunting the ability.

She scowled. "Why aren't we on your mad dash pace again?" she asked.

"Ah," said a new voice. "I am afraid that that is because of me."

**A/N: Thank you soo much for the reviews and the story alerts/favorites! It means a lot! **

**And, thanks again to my awesome beta! You're actually a life saver =). **

Vnoid: I tired to add in more descriptive scenery stuff (you had a good point) but I know it's not nearly enough. Next chapter, I promise!

**Okay, REVIEW, PLEASE! (they make me happy and motivated) **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to get this up! But it's over 2000 words : ). **

**Read and Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine **

Katara turned slowly to see who had spoken. Her eyes widened as she recognized the man standing in front of her.

"Thank you, my dear, for healing me," he said, smiling. "I'm sorry that it is under these conditions."

"You," she stammered. "You're,"

"Please, call me Iroh."

"Okay," said Katara slowly. "Iroh."

"Ah, where are my manners? Or should I say, where are my nephew's manners? We can't have such a wonderful young lady tied up, can we?" He smiled at her conspiratorially.

"What? No!" Said Zuko angrily. "The minute we untie her, she'll attack us!"

Katara rounded on him angrily. "Where am I going to go once I attack you? It's two against one, and we're in the middle of some desert!" The exertion took a lot of energy out of her, and she felt a wave of exhaustion pass as soon as she stopped talking.

"Zuko," Iroh's voice sounded threatening for the first time. "This girl is exhausted, and she's done both of us a very generous favor. I owe her my life."

Katara watched in amazement as the Prince deflated slightly. "The minute you do anything, _anything_ this goes back on," he told her in a low, threatening voice. "Understand?"

Katara nodded, wincing as he broke the bonds roughly. She rubbed her wrists as he pocketed the piece of cloth, and she noticed Iroh shoot a frown at Zuko.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Zuko grimaced. "You're welcome."

"Wasn't talking to you," Katara told him shortly. She smiled at Iroh, who grinned back.

Iroh patted his large stomach happily. "Now, I'm hungry. And I would like some tea. Zuko, where did you put that tea pot that I bought in that lovely little village? The one with flowers?"

Katara noticed Zuko roll his eyes before saying, "I got rid of it. That thing was extremely heavy. I'm not a pack mule!"

Iroh looked genuinely hurt. "My own nephew, destroying a tea pot! Where did I go wrong?" He sighed melodramatically, making Katara giggle.

"Well, do we at least have any tea?" Iroh asked, lowering himself down onto a sand dune, making it rise around him like a poufy cloud. "That wasn't too heavy, was it?"

Zuko sighed. "No, Uncle. It's in your pack, over there. You, Peasant, go get it!"

"Zuko, she's not a servant," Iroh told him, just as Katara was about to protest. He attempted to get up to get the tea himself, but he fell to the ground with a loud thump. He sighed. "I'm afraid that I'm not quite well enough for tea yet."

"Here, I'll get it." Katara got up and went over to his pack. She rifled through it until she found a packet with a dwindling supply of tea.

Iroh's face fell as soon as he looked into the packet of tea she handed him. "We need to go shopping!" he declared, comically emphatic. "And I'm starving! I'm sure our guest is as well."

Zuko gave her a cursory glance before nodding. "The oasis isn't very far away, maybe two hours. We can leave now if you want."

"We can leave whenever you'd like Zuko. Although I would advise leaving soon. It is not good to be out in the open like this. You can never know who will sneak up on you."

"Well it's not like there's any shelter!" Zuko protested.

Iroh chuckled. "I know, I know. Be calm. I was merely suggesting that we move."

Zuko sighed. "I suppose you're right." He moved quickly and soon had single-handedly packed up the camp site.

Together, he and Katara helped Iroh up onto the ostrich horse, which looked very apprehensive about regaining its passenger.

Zuko got onto the ostrich horse first, and then turned to look down at Katara. "Get on behind me." He told her.

She did, and hesitantly wrapped her arms securely around his waist. She felt him sit up straighter as soon as she touched him. He didn't say anything, but she noticed that his muscles were pulled taut for the whole ride to the Oasis.

…

The Oasis turned out to be a seedy rest stop. Katara looked at it cautiously until Zuko pulled her into the Oasis by her wrist. "C'mon, what are you doing?" He hissed at her, and pulled her close to him.

The Oasis was darkly lit and filled with men, young and old. Immediately, Iroh went to order food for the three of them, along with a steaming pot of tea.

They sat in the corner at a small table. Katara ate silently as Iroh and Zuko talked about future travel plans.

"Where is this 'friend' of yours, Uncle?" he asked.

Iroh smiled serenely. "He's over there," he said, nodding at a frail looking man sitting alone at a table.

"Why didn't you two say hello?" Zuko asked. "If you're friends…"

"Oh, we're not friends." Iroh told him confidently. "But we will be. Don't worry, Zuko. These things have a way of working themselves out.

"How is everything going to work itself out?" Zuko asked in a harsh whisper. "Uncle, you don't even know him!"

"Patience, patience, Zuko," Iroh said for the second time in one day. "Have a little faith in an old man, eh?"

"A crazy old man," Katara heard Zuko mutter under his breath as he reached for his tea cup. Iroh appeared not to notice.

When at last all of the food was gone from the table, Iroh got up and made his way over to the man who had not moved the entire time they had been there.

"Zuko," Katara hissed at him. He ignored her until she poked him hard in the shoulder. "Zuko!"

"What?" He asked angrily, turning to face her.

"Those men have been staring at you for ten minutes," she said crossing her arms and leaning back nonchalantly. "I just thought you might like to know."

Zuko spun around immediately, so Katara kicked him sharply with her foot. "Stop looking at them!" she whispered. "Or they'll know you know that they're looking."

"Good." Said Zuko grimly, beginning to stand.

Action took over Katara before she had time to think. Immediately, she was on her feet with him, and her palm connected solidly with his cheek.

While he sputtered angrily, she took the opportunity to begin yelling. "Jet, I can't _believe _that you're doing this! You told me you would only ever love me!" She reached for her tea cup, which still held the dregs of her tea, and threw it in his face.

The whole room went quiet so everyone could turn to look at the apparently quarreling couple. Taking the opportunity, Katara stalked past Zuko. Before she left, she winked at Iroh, who nodded and mouthed, "meet in back." Katara gave a minimal bob of her head to show that she had seen him. Behind her, she heard everyone in the Oasis roaring with laughter at the scene that had just played out before them.

And then she was out of the Oasis. She waited by the door for only a few seconds before Zuko burst through the doors. She saw that fire had already blossomed in his fists. As soon as he saw her, the fire went out and he ran at her. She let herself be tackled to the ground, and then be pulled back, her wrists held in one of Zuko's hands.

"Peasant," he growled at her. "You have some explaining to do."

"Let go of me!" Katara grasped as she felt his hands heat up against her wrist. Desperately she clawed at his hands until he let go with a small yelp of pain. She saw the blood drip down his hand with a small feeling of satisfaction as she looked down at her own, now red, wrists.

Without waiting for further reaction, she grabbed his wrist and began leading him to the back of the Oasis saying, "Come on, your Uncle said to meet us here."

She let out a small sigh of relief as the back door opened and Iroh exited, talking amicably with the man she had seen inside.

"Ah," Iroh stopped abruptly at the sight of Zuko and Katara. "Here is my nephew and his ah, friend. Miss Katara."

The man in front of them bowed forward slightly, and Katara hastened to mimic him. "Pleased to meet you," she said.

Zuko just looked him up and down appraisingly.

"That was some quick thinking you did back there, young lady," the man told Katara, smiling at her.

She grinned. "Thank you, it was the only thing I could think of in the moment."

"Well it certainly worked," the man told her.

They began walking, Iroh's new acquaintance leading the way.

When they stopped in front of a small earthen building, Katara looked up to or and read the sign.

"You're a florist?" Zuko asked slowly.

The man nodded and said mysteriously, "Among other things. Now come, come. Let us get inside quickly."

They went inside, single file, and Katara was surprised to find the interior brightly lit and cheerful. She noticed Iroh and the man whispering to each other as she and Zuko followed them to door.

Iroh turned when they reached the door. "Sorry," he said. "Members only."

Katara heard a bolt slide into place as he and the man disappeared into the other room.

There was deafening silence; she could feel Zuko's eyes burning a hole through her back. Instead of turning to face him, she moved away and sat back against the wall. "I can take the tea out of your clothing, if you want." She offered.

"No bending!" Zuko barked. He sat down against the opposite wall, so the two were face to face.

"Sorry, sorry," said Katara, raising her hands in surrender. "I won't bend. I was just offering to do you a favor."

"A favor, would have been _not _throwing tea at me," he told her. His voice was dangerously low.

"How about, a favor would be me saving you from getting your ass kicked by five bounty hunters," she said angrily. "You could be more grateful."

"I would be grateful, if you had done anything effective or necessary!" he said, in a voice that was just below a shout. "I did not need to have tea thrown in my face, or have you pretend to be my girlfriend. I did need to find out what the men in the Oasis wanted."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Zuko, wasn't it obvious? Didn't you notice the sign outside of the Oasis? They were bounty hunters! And you and your uncle have fairly large prices on your heads. They were plotting the best way to get you!"

"You don't know that!" Zuko shot back lamely. Katara didn't consider it worthy of a response, and instead slid down the wall until she was in comfortable position.

"Water peasant!" Zuko called to her. She didn't look.

"Call me by my real name or don't call me at all," she told him primly. She could almost hear his eyes roll.

"Katara," he ground out.

She grinned at him. "Yes?"

"Get over here, I want to go to sleep." He said.

She shrugged. "Be my guest."

Zuko sighed. "I mean, I need you to be next to me so I know you won't run away."

"I'm perfectly fine here," said Katara. She remained motionless, trying to convey the message that she would not be moving unless forced.

She looked up to find Zuko towering over her. "Up!" he said. When she didn't respond, he bent down and puller her up by her wrists. He dragged her so they were on his side of the wall, and then he sat down, pulling Katara down with him. Expertly, he wound her hair around his wrist, and slumped back against the wall.

Katara was left only with the options of sleeping against Zuko, or remaining sitting straight up. At last she decided to remain sitting in a ramrod straight position. She watched Zuko's chest move up and down, and his slow, steady breathing enviously. It was a relief when the door creak open and Iroh walked out looking grim.

**A/N: So, regarding last chapter; my beta and I did catch the grammar mistakes that some of yall mentioned… but then my computer decided to be stupid so it some weird stuff…. Anyways! Thanks for pointing them out to me, but I did realize that they were there : ). Hopefully, grammar-wise, this one was better. **

**Okay, REVIEW PLEASE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Read and review please!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine **

Zuko was awake and alert immediately. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

Iroh nodded, though his expression remained the same. "Yes, yes, it's fine. I just received some troubling news." He cut Zuko off as Zuko opened his mouth. "Never mind what, it is old people's business. But I also have some good news. My new friend gave us an idea, and a way out. We are going to hide in plain sight!" He looked gleeful at the idea, and Katara saw boyish pleasure creep into his face as he described the plan to them.

"Ba Sing Se?" she repeated.

Iroh nodded at her. "Yes, it's a brilliant idea. It's so huge! We can hide right under the noses of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation and neither of them will be any the wiser!"

"But what about the Avatar?" Zuko asked quickly.

"We aren't giving up, Zuko, don't worry!" Iroh said cheerfully. Whatever troubling news he had received was clearly out of his head in the prospects of a new city to see.

Zuko turned to address Katara, as if he hadn't heard his uncle speak. "Where is the Avatar going?" he asked harshly.

"I don't know!" Katara told him angrily. We were trying to decide where we wanted to go on vacation when you came in with your stupid 'heal me' stuff!" She shot an apologetic glance at Iroh who merely smiled and nodded in understanding.

"A vacation," Zuko repeated dumbly. "The Avatar was taking a vacation? You really expect me to believe that?"

Katara shrugged. "Believe what you want, but it's the truth."

"Katara," Zuko started talking when Iroh interrupted the pair saying, "Enough!"

He turned to face the man whose store they were in and he bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality, and information. It was very informative."

The man bowed back. "It was my pleasure G-"

"Well," said Iroh loudly. "Say goodbye you two." He motioned for the two of them to bow as well, which they did. Katara noticed that Zuko's bow consisted only of a slight inclination of his neck. They began walking towards the front door when there was a loud pounding against the rough wood that they had been about to exit through.

A loud voice floated through the door. "We know you have the Fire Prince, traitor! Let him out, and we'll let you live."

Katara, Zuko, and Iroh froze. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," Iroh's new friend stammered through the door while motioning for the three of them to hide. Katara glanced desperately around the room to find an exit. Her eyes lighted upon a two large flower pots, sitting atop of a wheeling cart.

"Zuko!" She whispered. He didn't look at her until she kicked him with her foot. Once she had his attention, she nodded towards the pots and mouthed, "Hide."

He understood immediately. "Uncle," he said, And pointed at the pots. Iroh nodded, and as one, the three went for the pots. Both Zuko and Katara had to stop and help Iroh get into his pot, as he was still too weak to manage it on his own. As they worked, Katara could hear a heavy thud against the door, almost as though whoever was on the other side was trying to break it down. Quickly, Katara reached over and placed a stack of over-sized paper over the lid.

She turned to find that Zuko had already disappeared inside of the next pot, and she scrambled in after him. He let out a muffled grunt of annoyance and pain as she put all her weight on the top of his head.

"Sorry," she whispered as she struggled to move away despite the cramped quarters.

They both froze as they heard another thud against the door. The floorboards creaked, and Katara could hear the florist approaching the cart.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" he called, as he pushed the cart towards the front door. She heard shaky fingers unlatch the door, and a gruff voice rang out, frighteningly close.

"Move," it said. Katara heard Iroh's friend stumble, she guessed from being pushed out of the way.

"I shall be right back," said Iroh's friend. "I have to make a quick delivery. Feel free to look around. I have nothing to hide!" The cart they were sitting on began to move, and Katara was knocked uncomfortably into Zuko as they went over the bump of the doorway. He said nothing as Katara hastily righted herself.

He continued to say nothing until the cart was back at the Oasis, when he said, "Get out first," which Katara did. She was pleased to see that their ostrich horses were still tethered safely in place.

She turned to see Zuko pulling Iroh out his own flower pot. Katara realized with a twinge of guilt that should have healed him more, before the journey. Though he seemed to be managing fairly well. She looked up when she heard the soft crunch of sand next to her, and found Zuko standing by her side. Katara looked back to Iroh, who was now talking with the florist again. After what seemed like a long time, Iroh and the man bowed to each other, and the man turned and began pushing the cart back to his shop.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked worriedly.

Iroh laughed. "He can take care of himself, do not worry my dear. Now who would like to help me find some tea?"

"What are we doing?" Zuko asked quickly, before Iroh could set out on a determined mission.

"We are going to wait until nightfall. Then we are going to ride to find a ferry to take us to Ba Sing Se." Iroh said simply. "Now, about that tea…"

"None of us can go anywhere." Katara and Zuko spoke at the same time, and both turned to look at the other in astonishment, amazed that they had the same idea.

Iroh's round face fell into an adult version of a pout. "But my tea-"

"If we go anywhere in this town, then we'll be recognized." Katara explained. She had noticed the wanted posters hung up with both Zuko and Iroh's faces on them. Though it had been too brief a glance to read the words, she was able to guess what they said.

Iroh sighed. "I suppose you are right."

"I can heal you now," Katara offered. "I noticed you were in pain when we were helping you into the flower pot.

"Oh no," Iroh shook his head. "Really, I am fine, my dear."

"No you're not," Zuko interrupted him.

Katara grinned. "Two against one. Sorry Iroh, you've been outvoted." She motioned for him to take his shirt off and lie on his chest. She reached for the water skin at her waist when she remembered she didn't have it any longer.

"Here." Zuko handed it to her, and stood an appropriate distance away to observe.

Katara was pleased to see that thin scars had replaced the thicker cuts, though the largest ones were still scabbed and looked painful. She brought the water out of its confinement and coated her hands with it so they glowed blue. Slowly, she lost herself to the soothing rhythm of the circular motion her hands were making. Almost like the water that lapped at the thick ice in her home.

She worked until she felt ready to collapse. The sun looked just about ready to sink into the depths of the earth, and the sky glowed pink. She let the water flow back into the skin. She was too tired to feel sad when Zuko took the water skin gently out her hands.

…

She woke to find that her hands were tied again. She was sitting behind Zuko as he steered the ostrich horse. Her arms were draped over his chest. Automatically, she began struggling against her bonds, and she heard Zuko sigh in annoyance.

"Relax!" he said against the wind. "I'll untie you when we stop to rest. I did that so you could sleep without falling off of the ostrich horse!"

Katara froze in surprise at his actions. Slowly, she relaxed against him, and fell asleep under the dark stars.

She was awakened by someone shaking her. "What?" she asked groggily.

"Wake up, Katara," Iroh's gentle voice coaxed her. She sat up and stretched widely.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"A camp site," Zuko's voice came from behind her.

She rolled her eyes. "I figured that out for myself, thanks," she said sarcastically, nodding at the campfire. "I mean, geographically."

"We're almost there," he told her.

She squinted against the darkness, and the distance, trying to see a hint at the end of the stretch of sand that seemed to surround them completely. "What time is it?" she asked curiously.

"Almost dawn," Zuko told her. "We're going to leave again soon."

"How soon?"

"Now." Iroh came up behind them, beaming. He held up their packs, which had been neatly repacked. Katara glanced down at her clothes, and noticed with dismay how dirty they were. Iroh and Zuko's clothing had fared no better. The cloth was caked with dirt and dust, and there were stray tears in the fabric that had not been there before.

Katara shouldered her pack wordlessly, though she made a mental note to make them all purchase new clothing.

She watched the sunrise as the desert disappeared behind them. As promised, her hands were no longer tied, so it was up to her to hold on. She still checked the sky for shapes that might be Appa, but she saw nothing.

She saw with growing excitement as the beginnings of civilization began to appear before them. Stray houses dotted the landscape, and each one announced their proximity to a town.

When at last the town came into view, Katara was surprised to see how many people were there. The streets were clogged with assortments of carriages, ostrich horses, and other various modes of transportation, as well as people burdened with heavy packs who looked ready to collapse.

Somehow, Zuko managed to maneuver them expertly around the masses until they were inside of a dimly lit chamber filled with people who looked broken. They approached the booth of a bored-looking woman who was wearing too much makeup.

Zuko spoke first. "Excuse me; we'd like three tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se.

The woman snorted. "So does everyone else here," she told him.

Katara saw Zuko open his mouth again, but before he could speak, Iroh cut in. "Excuse me, kind lady. But my son and niece need to get on board. I'm sure it's something a beautiful young woman such as yourself could manage?" He batted his eyebrows at her, and Katara saw Zuko pretend to wretch.

The woman blushed and stammered, "W-well, my, I suppose just this once." She slide three tickets through the both, and Iroh grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Thank you," he said, smiling at her. "This was very kind of you!"

"A-any time," the woman said. "Have a nice journey!"

"Uncle, was that necessary?" Zuko asked as they began walking to board the ferry.

Iroh merely smiled and said, "It worked, did it not?" Both he and Katara grinned at Zuko who groaned.

…

The ferry was extremely crowded, but Katara was thrilled to be surrounded by so much water instead of coarse grains of sand.

Zuko accompanied her to the deck while Iroh rested in his room. As Katara stared out at the water, Zuko whispered in her ear, "Don't try anything, Katara." He stood behind her and put one hand on either side of her so she was trapped by his arms.

"I'm not going to," she whispered back. "Where would I go? We're surrounded by miles and miles of water." Her words sounded both happy and sad, and Zuko remained silent behind her, though he moved one arm and stood next to her instead.

Katara watched the water move beneath them, and as she stared down at its murky depths, she wondered what was beneath them.

Someone touched the small of her back and whispered her name. "Katara?"

She turned to see who had spoken, and stood face to face with the one person she had hoped never to see again.

**A/N: Okay, so hopefully yall liked it enough to review? PLEASE! **

**Okay, so regarding last chapter: Katspaw said they didn't understand it. If anyone else had this problem, please let me know and I'll rewrite it so it's clearer!**

**Side note: My friend was making fun of me for being a hippie, and he called me a freedom fighter (out of context) I thought it was amusing. But he also told me that if I dressed up for culture day for spirit week I would look like a hot dog, lol. **

**Okay, REVIEW PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello all of you lovely people =). Sorry this took so long to get up, but it is on the long side (for me at least). Read and review please! **

Zuko spoke first, while Katara stared at the person standing in front of her in horror. "Who are you?" he asked gruffly.

The boy stuck out his hand. "Jet." He said.

At the sound of his voice, Katara came out of her stupor. "What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

He smirked and leaned back lazily. "I could ask you the same question. Where'd your merry band of do-gooders go?"

"I-" Katara paused,

"She started traveling with me." Zuko cut in. He shook Jet's hand, and Katara saw the muscles tense in his hand and she sensed that he was squeezing as hard as he could. "My name is Lee."

He shot Katara a warning look, daring her to contradict him. She remained silent and stared at Jet accusingly. She could feel the water beneath them calling to her, and her hands itched to call up a water whip to rid Jet of his insolent smirk.

She noticed Jet's face become tense, and she realized that he and Zuko were still involved in a death grip. Their hands had turned white with the tension, and both appeared incapable of understanding the concept of letting go.

It was Smellerbee who broke them apart. "Hey Katara," she said, coming up silently behind Jet.

"Hello," Katara replied stiffly.

"Who is this?" Zuko asked Katara, as he moved to stand slightly in front her protectively.

"This is Smellerbee, and Longshot is over there." She pointed to the tall boy who was standing a little distance away pretending not to be looking at them.

"And, where did you meet these… people?" he asked her tightly.

She replied, "it's a long story, and not one I feel like telling right now. I'm going back to our room." She started to walk away, but Jet caught her wrist.

"Jet, let go." She warned.

"Our room?" he quoted questioningly.

She ignored him. "Jet. Let. Go." She pronounced each word deliberately. She twitched her free hand, and immediately, she felt water rise up behind her in a thin stream. She looked at Zuko, who nodded subtly, and she unleashed her poorly formed water-whip on Jet.

He dodged it easily, and reached out and grabbed her other hand in his. "Katara, I've changed. Honestly. That's why we're going to Ba Sing Se! We're starting a new life."

She looked into his eyes, searching for a hint of the truth she was sure he was hiding. He seemed earnest, but she had thought he was earnest the last time they had met...

"Katara." Zuko's voice ripped her out of her memories, and she realized that his hand was on her shoulder. She looked up at him; his expression was unfathomable.

"Yes?" she asked, she cringed inwardly at how unsure her voice sounded.

"C'mon." he said softly.

She almost recognized the emotion in his voice. Kindness maybe? She shook the idea off as she wrenched her hands free from Jet's grasp and let Zuko lead her back to their room.

She stood facing away from him as he shut the door gently. She heard him open his mouth to speak but before he could she said, "Could you not?"

Katara was relieved when Zuko remained silent. The ship cabin was miniscule, and Iroh was already lay spread eagle, asleep on a small cot. This left a slightly larger cot for Katara and Zuko to sleep in.

She knew that she should protest when Zuko wound her hair around his wrist, as escape in the middle of the ocean was impossible, but she said nothing. As she stared up at the ceiling, the memories overwhelmed her. Once again she was in the forest with Jet. He, the fearless King, and she, his Queen. Living their lives devoted to helping people. She could picture the time so clearly in her mind. Safe, happy, surrounded by loved ones.

Katara turned to look at Zuko, whose slow breathing signified that he was asleep. He looked peaceful in sleep. It was the first time that Katara seen him look a semblance of a normal teenager.

…..

An enormous tug at her hair woke her up. With a cry of pain and surprise, Katara tried to sit up, but discovered that she was still connected to Zuko. She also discovered that she was the only one still in the cot. She heard Zuko cursing and grumbling on the floor.

"What'd you do that for?" she asked angrily as she attempted to unwind her hair from his wrist.

"Hell, what'd I do?" he asked gruffly. "You kicked me off the bed!" He appeared to notice Katara's struggle to rotate his wrist so she could free herself, and finished the job quickly.

Katara blushed. "Sorry," she murmured.

He shrugged and stood up, stretching. "I'm going to go find us some food. Stay here."

"Like I'd go anywhere," Katara mumbled as the door shut behind him. She glanced over at Iroh's bed and, to her horror, realized he was awake.

He smiled at her. "Good morning."

Her attempt at a smile turned out as more of a grimace. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you." He replied and sat up, yawning widely. He looked towards the door. "Don't mind my nephew, you can go out if you like."

"Oh, no, that's really not nec-" Katara began, but Iroh cut her off.

"I insist. Although, I must admit I have ulterior motives for sending you out." He grinned sheepishly. "While you're out, do you mind checking if they have any tea?"

Katara laughed, surprised. "Of course!" She said cheerfully. She slipped out of the room quietly and stopped to take in the sea breeze that ruffled her hair. She could sense the water all around her. Cautiously, she looked both ways for signs of Zuko. When she saw none, she crept to the side of the ship and looked down at the water. Surely she would be allowed to bend just a tiny bit. _You don't need anyone's permission, Katara, _she reminded herself firmly as she called a small amount of water up into her hands.

The water's presence relaxed her, and she moved it from hand to hand, longing to practice more advanced forms of water bending. Although the cramped space made it impossible for her to do so.

A voice behind her made her drop the water in surprise as someone touched her shoulder lightly.

"Still, with the water, Katara?" Jet asked lightly from behind her.

"Jet, get away." She said quietly, not trusting her voice to remain intact if she spoke at a higher volume.

She felt his breath as he sighed. "Katara, I've changed!" he protested.

"Yeah, well, I haven't." Katara replied peevishly. "I'm not going to talk to you. So it'd be better for both of us if you just left me alone."

She began walking away, and grimaced in frustration when she heard Jet's footsteps behind her. She rounded on him. "Jet. Stay away from me!" With all of her strength, she brought her hand up and was pleased to hear the resulting crack of her palm against his cheek. Jet simply stared at her, motionless. Katara took the opportunity to escape. She weaved in and out of the people, many of whom simply leaned against the railing looking sea sick. It took her some time to realize she had absolutely no idea where she was going, so she stopped and looked out at the sea once again. She tensed when someone came up and stood beside her, but relaxed when she realized it was only Smellerbee.

"Hey Katara," said Smellerbee peaceably.

"Hi," Katara replied, not looking at her.

Smellerbee shifted in place next to her as she looked out at the water as well. "Jet really has changed, you know," she said.

Katara looked at her out of the corner of her eyes. "Are you going to try and convince me of his repentance and goodness now?"

Smellerbee shrugged. "No. I just thought you should know." With that, she walked away, humming tunelessly to herself.

Katara stood silently as she processed Smellerbee's words. How much could a person change, really? She thought of Zuko and his strange moments of kindness, and the care with which he looked after his uncle. She decided that, perhaps, a person could change.

….

"Where were you?" Zuko's voice burned with anger as she walked through door to their small room.

"Getting tea, see?" she held up a small tea pot and cups.

"I told you not to go anywhere!" he growled at her, barely glancing at the tea.

"Really, Zuko." Iroh's voice came from the bed. "I told her it was alright. There is no need to be so worked up."

Katara saw Zuko take a deep breath before turning to face his uncle. "I know, but that is not the point! I expressly told her not to leave, but she did anyway!"

"With my permission," Iroh reminded him cheerfully. He leaned around his nephew to speak to Katara. "You wouldn't mind bringing that tea over here, would you dear?" He smiled and said "Thank you," when she did.

Zuko groaned and flopped down on his cot. Katara giggled as she reached for the tray of food that Zuko had brought back. It had one bowl of gray liquid mixed with small chunks of something which she supposed was meat.

"What is this?" she asked loudly as she prodded at it with a spoon.

"Garbage," Zuko answered from the bed. "Don't eat it, it's disgusting."

Katara wrinkled her nose. "I won't, don't worry." She sank down onto the cot next to Zuko, trying to ignore the pangs of hunger that were coming from her stomach. He moved over a little when she sat down so they weren't making contact.

"Well," said Iroh loudly after a few minutes of silence. "I'm going to go have a look around."

Katara turned to look at him. "Are you sure?" she and Zuko asked at the same time.

He nodded. "Do not worry about me, I am a tad bit stronger than the old man I appear to be. And besides, I have to return these dishes. It is rude to take something and not give it back." With these words of wisdom, he departed, singing merrily to himself.

Zuko's voice broke the silence. "Who is he?"

Katara froze. "Who?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Jet."

She said nothing, trying to formulate a response.

His voice interrupted her thoughts. "Never mind, you don't have to tell me." His voice was soft and undemanding.

"It's okay," she said. "We met him while we were in the Earth Kingdom. At first he was really…" she stopped and finally said, "He's really charismatic. And he seemed to have the same goals as us. My brother tried to warn me, but Aang and I were so stupid and blind that we didn't listen! It turned out he was planning to try and kill a whole Fire Nation village." She sighed sadly. "He thinks that the only way to get revenge for his family's death is to defeat the Fire Nation no matter who gets hurt."

She turned to look at Zuko when he didn't say anything. He was staring down at his hands, but as if he sensed her gaze, he looked up. "Why did you save the lives of the Fire Nation village?" he asked.

"They were innocent," she said simply.

"So are you," she thought she heard him say, but he might have said something else. When she asked him to repeat himself, he shook his head and said, "Nothing. Why are you involved in this war Katara?"

"Why is anyone involved in a war?" she asked. "Duty, conviction, I'm trying to help people. Why are you involved in this war, Zuko?"

Zuko's reply was one word. "Honor."

Katara looked at him questioningly, but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he stood and asked, "Do you want to come find some real food with me? Instead of that awful trash they gave us?"

Katara grinned. "Sure."

**A/N: Okay, review please! Oh! And Happy belated Halloween! Any interesting costumes? REVIEW **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry this is so late! Although, in my defense, I have been extremely busy. But, on a happier note, here's the next chapter. (Un-betaed, any mistakes are mine) **

Katara, Zuko, and Iroh joined the masses of people who stood at the hull of the ferry excitedly watching the walls of Ba Sing Se grow closer. She joined in with people cheering as the boat bumped against the dock, but stopped when Zuko gave her an odd look.

"Hold on to me," he told her as people began surging past them. She grabbed onto his hand and held on tightly. Together they walked down the gangplank onto the hard docks filled with worn and ragged people. Iroh shepherded them into a large ferry terminal, where they sat down on a hard wooden bench.

It was Katara who realized who realized that her hand was still tightly intertwined with Zuko's. She wrenched it away quickly, blushing. "What do we do now?" she asked.

"We find jobs, or a place to stay," Iroh answered. Zuko's face wrinkled in disgust. "Jobs? Why do we need jobs?"

"Because we need money," Iroh answered. "Ooh, miss, I'll take some tea please!" He waved over a woman pushing a cart stacked with teapots and cups.

"Maybe," Zuko said slowly as he watched a few coins being placed into the woman's hand, "we wouldn't run out of money if you didn't keep wasting it on tea!"

"Awful tea too," Iroh commented. "This tea is cold!"

"Katara." Katara turned at the sound of her name, and saw Jet standing in front of her. She looked to Zuko who nodded his permission, and she stood to drag Jet into a corner.

"What?" she hissed. "Did I not make it clear that I no longer have any sympathy for you?"

"Don't make me laugh," Jet said bitterly. "You never had any sympathy for me. Otherwise you wouldn't have stopped me. And you would have accepted my apology!"

"I never have any sympathy for you?" She laughed mirthlessly. "Really, Jet. It's you who has no sympathy, otherwise, you wouldn't have tried to murder innocent people!" She turned away to rejoin Zuko and Iroh, but Jet's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

He spun her around, and dropping his voice low so passersby wouldn't hear, said, "Innocent? If you live in the Fire Nation, you're not innocent. You're a monster."

"No, you're the monster," Katara hissed back. Delicately, she removed his hand from her shoulder and turned to walk again.

"Do you have a plan?" Jet called after her. "Do you have any idea where you're going? I thought that your brother and the Avatar were a little more important to you than some boy." He snorted, "You made that pretty clear to me."

Katara was about to retort when Zuko appeared next to her. "Are we having a problem?" he asked, more to Jet than to her.

Jet looked Zuko up and down, catching sight of his clenched fists and angry expression, he said "No." He walked past them and, out of spite, knocked Iroh's tea out of his hands. Instantly he let out a hiss of pain.

"I thought that tea was cold," he yelled at Iroh.

Iroh smiled blandly up at him. "Perhaps you and I have different definitions of cold, young man." Jet glared at him as he left, flanked by the Longshot and Smellerbee. Katara saw him cast a suspicious glance back at them as he left.

As soon Jet was out of earshot, Zuko rounded on his Uncle. "Why did you heat your tea up?" He asked angrily. "Now he'll get suspicious!"

"My tea was cold, and one must never drink tea that is cold," Iroh said sagely. He paused to consider what he had said and chose to amend his statement. "Unless, of course, it is iced tea, which is juts as good as hot tea. They are two completely separate things, but they are both wonderful," he winked at his nephew, who scowled and kicked the leg of the bench his uncle sat on to relieve his emotions.

"Fine," he said, once he had recovered from his fit of cursing that had come after his kick at the bench. "This is your idea after all. What are we going to do?"

Iroh heaved a sigh and stood. "We enter the city and find a place to stay for the night."

"Who would accept us?" Zuko asked bitterly.

"Come, come, Zuko." Iroh said. "The city is filled with refugees, they will not mind three more." He turned to Katara. "I understand, my dear, if you choose to part ways with us here." He ignored Zuko's protests as he looked at Katara, who stood still in shock.

"Where would I go?" she asked.

"Exactly." Zuko cut in. "Uncle, we have to keep her as bait for the Avatar!"

Iroh turned to look at him sternly. "I though that I had taught you better manners, but apparently not. Katara has done me a great favor, and I am now bound to give her one in return. Should you choose to keep her prisoner, know that I will not stand behind you." He touched Zuko's shoulder. "You are a great man, Zuko. Make the right decision."

Zuko froze. "You would betray me, Uncle?" he asked.

Iroh's voice became cold. "Not unless forced. Choose, Zuko."

Zuko remained immobile for a time, then he finally turned to face Katara. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I " she paused, torn. She had no idea where Aang, Sokka, and Toph would be. "I don't have anywhere to go."

He nodded. "All right, come on then," and he led the other two out of the crowded terminal without a backwards glance.

…..

They ducked into a small, unassuming tea shop, which Iroh insisted on entering. However, one the tea they ordered was delivered, he wrinkled his nose in disgust.  
"Plehh," he spit it out. "This stuff doesn't even deserve to be called tea."

"Hey," Katara had been staring at a sign in the window, debating on whether or not to mention it. "Do think we could work here." She pointed at the sign which read, "Help wanted."

Zuko frowned. "A tea shop?" he asked skeptically.

"Fine," Katara crossed her arms. "We'll just go sleep in an inn, and let you keep wasting your money. It's fine with me."

Iroh chuckled. "She makes a good point, Zuko." He said. "Excuse me," he called to the harried looking man who came had served them the tea. "We'd like to apply for jobs." He pointed at himself, Zuko and Katara.

The man frowned. "I was really only looking for one…" he said.

"We would be willing to work for room and board," Katara cut in suddenly.

Zuko shot a look that plainly said that he would not be willing to work for so little, but she ignored him.

"Payment would come later," she said. "Once you're tea shop becomes more popular, which it will." She patted Iroh on the shoulder. "He's an expert at tea brewing." Iroh blushed appreciatively, and she smiled at him.

"I suppose," the man said slowly. "All right, you're hired!" He stuck out his hand for Katara to shake, which she did. "You can start now!"

"What are you thinking?" Zuko whispered in Katara's ear as they moved to the back room.

"That we need a place to stay, and food to eat," she told him cuttingly. "It will be fine, don't worry about it."

Zuko frowned, but said nothing, until he was handed a flowery pink apron by the store manager. "I'm not wearing that!" he said in revulsion.

Katara giggled. "I think it's cute," she said, laughing.

"So trade with me then!" he said angrily, staring with jealousy at the plain blue apron she was wearing.

"No thank you," she said. "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that! Here, let me tie it for you." She moved behind Zuko and tied the thin pink string in a tight knot. From the front room, a small bell chimed, announcing the arrival of the first customer.

"I'll get it," she said, and left through the double doors. Her first customer was an elderly man who appeared to be under the impression that he had walked into a different restaurant, and persisted in ordering strange things that were not on the menu.

Zuko emerged from the back room just she said, for the umpteenth time, "I'm sorry sir. We don't have that. Perhaps I could offer you some jasmine tea?"

"What? No, no," the man answered loudly (he appeared to be a tad deaf). "None of that! I've told you, I want cured beargoose meat!"

Katara glared at Zuko when she noticed him silently laughing at her. "Help me!" she mouthed at him, but he shook his head.

"He's your customer," he said as he disappeared into the back room again. Katara repressed a noise of frustration and went back to persuading the man to order something that she was capable of serving.

"He left a horrible tip," she said grumpily once the man left.

"But he liked my tea," Iroh said happily.

"He thought it was cactus juice," Zuko pointed out fairly.

"He definitely didn't need any of that," said Katara firmly. The bell rang again. "Your turn," she said to Zuko, grinning evilly at him.

As luck would have it, Zuko's customer was much more receptive to the menu than Katara's had been. When she left, he sat at a back table, counting the rather large tip she had left him gloatingly.

"She liked my tea too," Iroh said happily.

"No one ever dislikes your tea, Uncle." Zuko said tiredly. Iroh beamed at him.

…..

That night, the manager showed them a small shack next to the tea shop. The shack had two rooms, one kitchen and one multipurpose room. It had one sunken couch from which a small pile of dust rose when Iroh sat on it, as well as three wooden chairs with peeling paint. Two beds took up most of the room. They were pushed up against opposite walls.

Iroh claimed the smaller of the two for his own, and he was asleep within minutes, snoring softly.

Zuko and Katara glanced at one another, before they both made towards the bed.

"You take it," Katara said. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"It's large enough for both of us," Zuko pointed out.

"I'm not going to try and leave," Katara protested. "I was already offered the chance, and I'll take it when I'm ready."

Zuko snorted. "I know you aren't leaving," he said. " I was trying to be polite."

"Oh." Katara stood still for a few moments before she shrugged. "Thank you," she said stiffly as she climbed onto the farthest edge of the bed. She was asleep before she heard him answer.

She awoke the next morning, and was thrilled to find tat she could sit up of her own free will, no longer tethered to Zuko as she had been before. She glanced around and saw that both Zuko and Iroh were already awake and talking in low voices. They looked up when they saw her sit up.

"Good morning," Iroh said happily. "Are you hungry?"

Katara nodded, and the two moved over so she had room to sit down with them. "We have tea," said Iroh, pointing at a pot of steaming tea. "And some bread. I'm sorry, but it seems that the third ring of Ba Sing Se is not abundant in good food. But it's no matter, we'll make do."

Katara smiled as she reached across the table for a piece of bread. Zuko handed it to her before she could touch it and she smiled at him in gratitude. His lips might have twitched upwards in the slightest but their journey upwards stopped and returned to their usual solemn expression before she could examine it. She bit into the bread and immediately wished she hadn't.

The bread tasted much like what she would imagine eating mud mixed with rice would taste like. Perhaps if the rice and mud had been baked.

"Where did you get this?" she asked tentatively as she reached for her cup to take a a large gulp of tea.

"The store owner gave it to us," Zuko replied. "I suppose it's what we should expect all our meals to taste like."

Katara could hear the implied _'thanks, Katara,' _that was heavy in sarcasm.

She forced herself to finish chewing and beam grin at him cheerily. "I think it's delicious," she said challengingly, taking another large bite, that was followed by another swallow of tea when he turned away.

"Really?" he asked in disgust. "Here you can have mine then."

Katara's face fell a little as he put two more slices of the bread in front of her.

Iroh caught her expression and said, "Maybe we should save some. In case we get hungry later."

"Yes," said Katara quickly. "We should save some for later." She quickly made a mental note to get rid of it as soon as Zuko left. Perhaps bury it, so like would return to like. She moved her tongue around her mouth, unable to get the disgusting earthen after taste out of her mouth.

She shot Iroh an appreciative glance, which he returned with a nod of his head and a twinkling smile.

"What time do we have to start work?" she asked, downing the rest of her tea in one.

Iroh glanced outside of the small window and said, "now."

….

It was a long day. Katara's first customer came back again, though thankfully it was Zuko who served him, not Katara. Zuko stormed back into kitchen after spending five minutes trying to convince the man that cactus juice and tea were not the same substance, and that cactus juice was an illegal substance.

"He's your customer," said Katara sweetly, as she smirked at him. He glowered at her and left holding a cup of rose water.

"Here," he said, plunking it down on the table in front of the man. "I'm not supposed to be giving you this, so drink it quickly."

"What?" the old man asked loudly. "Yes, yes," he reached towards the cup and drank it slowly. Then, to Katara's delight and Zuko's horror, he reached out and pinched both of Zuko's cheeks. "If only there were more young people like you in the world," he sighed. "Kids today, in my day we treated elders with respect!"

Katara ducked back into the kitchen, laughing as Zuko was forced to stand and listen to the man's ramblings.

"You were right," said Zuko grumpily when he came back a quarter of an hour later. "That man is a terrible tipper." He turned to his uncle hopefully and asked, "Can we ban him?"

Iroh laughed. "You cannot ban someone just for tipping poorly Zuko. As long as he pays, he can stay here."

The little bell tinkled in front again. Zuko threw himself into a small wooden chair and crossed his arms. "I'm not going out there again," he said firmly. Katara sighed and rolled her eyes.

Her patrons were much more accommodating.

After glancing at the menu, they both ordered the cheapest thing and were gone within minutes.

"Of course you get the easy job," Zuko grumbled when she came back into the kitchen and sat down next to him.

She bit back a retort and smiled at him instead. "Karma, I supposed. I got the geezer yesterday, today it was your turn."

Her smile grew wider when he glared at her.

…

Things quickly fell into a routine. The old man still came in every day, at the same time. (Somehow, Zuko managed to be conveniently busy whenever he came in). The tips that Katara earned were slowly building in her pocket, so the change jingled when she walked; though she moved it when Zuko pointed out that the third ring of Ba Sing Se was not where one wanted thieves to be alerted of an abundance of coins.

She still woke every morning, thrilled to find that she was able to sit up of her own accord.

She had also taken to discreetly disposing of the bread that she still insisted was perfectly edible every morning. Iroh had begun to bring supplies from the tea shop back to their shack, which they used to prepare meals that Katara was able to swallow without gagging.

Zuko, too also seemed different. Occasionally, Katara thought she saw a genuine smile on his face, but whenever she looked back, it was gone.

**A/N: Review?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Nothing has changed from the last chapter except for the year.**

**A/N: Read and review please! Hope you like it!**

"Damn, the stove is out again," said Zuko, cursing. Katara stood from where she had been sitting on the couch, looking out of the shack's small window. She turned to look out of it again before turning back to Zuko; she could have sworn that she had seen a streak of brown hair disappearing around the corner, but it was gone.

"Here," she sighed. "I'll go get the flint and we can restart it."

"But why can't I-" Zuko started, but Katara cut him off with a stern glance.

"I'll use the flint," she said firmly.

"This is stupid," Zuko grumbled as he watched her fiddle unsuccessfully with the flint. "Here, give it to me," he held out his hand and she placed it into his palm. With one quick striking motion, the flint created a small spark and a flame jumped to life.

Katara smiled at him. "See, it's not that hard," she said. He raised an eyebrow and she ceded. "For you," she added grudgingly.

She walked back to the doorway to look out into the dark night. "I'll be back," she said to no one in particular.

Zuko grunted and Iroh called, "Be careful!"

She nodded as she left and she raced out into the street.

"Jet," she called into the dark once she was a few small streets away from her own. "I know you're out there! Jet!"

A grinning boy dropped down from the top of a small, dilapidated building, and she let out a small yelp and jumped backwards. "Thought you didn't want to see me anymore, Katara."

She glared at him evenly. "I don't. I came here to warn you." She took a step closer so she could shove Jet threateningly. "Stay away from us."

Jet raised an eyebrow at her, seemingly unfazed by her actions. "Who? You and the firebender?"

Katara flinched. "I don't associate with fire benders," she said coolly.

"Unless you're in love with one," said Jet.

Katara's crystal-blue eyes widened. She froze in the middle of turning to walk away. "I'm not in love with anyone," she said calmly. "And if I were to meet a fire bender, believe me, the last thing I would do would be to fall in love one."

Jet's grind disappeared. "I know that your precious _Lee _is a firebender, and so is the old man. When I prove it, we'll see who was right, won't we?"

"Stay away from us Jet," Katara hissed. "What happened to your 'change'?" she twisted the word in her mouth.

"I have changed," said Jet lightly. "Not going after innocents anymore, am I? This time I'm sure that he's a firebender." He sighed. "What happened to my old Katara? She would have helped me."

"I was never 'Your Katara'," Katara spat at him. "I will never be anyone's. And I would never help you go against innocent people."

"But they're not innocent," Jet replied, smiling once again. "If you change your mind, come find me. It won't be too hard." He cocked his head and winked. "I'll be around." He turned and walked away whistling softly.

"Stay away from us," Katara called after him warningly. In answer, he raised a hand to acknowledge her words but did not turn around.

Katara cursed as she made her way back to the shack next to the tea shop. She continued to curse under her breath as she slammed the door behind her.

Iroh and Zuko looked up, surprised at her rather dramatic entrance.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked curiously, taking in her expression which was wavering between anger and tears.

Katara paused as she weighed the pros and cons of selling Jet out to Zuko. Finally she said, "Hang on." She went to the stove and took a piece of charcoal that had fallen. With it, she wrote the words "Jet is watching us. You cannot bend at all."

"That bastard!" Zuko said angrily. He immediately began towards the door, but Iroh stopped him with a well placed foot that sent Zuko sprawling.

"You're sure?" he asked Katara gravely. She nodded and he sighed. "He did seem like a troubled young man."

"I-he- Yes," said Katara finally and gave a false yawn. "I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep now." She was relieved that neither Zuko nor Iroh questioned her about the early hour and she crawled into the bed she and Zuko shared. She stayed awake and was able to hear parts of their whispered conversation.

"He's dangerous, Uncle," she heard Zuko say.

"Most misinformed men are, Zuko," Iroh replied. Katara heard him move around and the merry whistle of a kettle.

Zuko moved to the window, shut it firmly and sat down on the small couch.

"Can we report him?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know." Said Iroh. "We would have to be able to prove that he has indeed been spying on us, and that is not going to be easy."

Katara closed her eyes when Zuko neared the bed so he would not realize that she was still awake, but he didn't sit down. Instead, he began rummaging in the bag he kept underneath the bed. Through a cracked eye, all Katara was able to discern was a lot of black cloth and a flash of something blue.

"I'm going out," she heard Zuko say in a rough voice.

She heard Iroh sigh and say, "Really, Zuko. Is now the best time?"

She heard no response, and when she dared to open an eye, she found Zuko gone and Iroh facing away from her, sipping tea.

"Go to sleep Katara," said Iroh, still facing away from her.

Katara didn't reply.

…..

The next morning Zuko was asleep next to her. When he woke he gave no indication that he had gone anywhere the night before.

Katara watched him carefully as he served the customers in the teashop, but he appeared to be perfectly normal.

She did notice that one boy in particular came every day and sat in the back booth. Zuko apparently noticed it too. He stood behind her, glaring hostilely at the boy.

"Do you think he knows?" he asked.

Startled, she glanced up at him. "Knows what?"

"About us, who we- I am." He replied. He started and looked away when the boy looked up and smiled at them.

Katara laughed. "No, Zuko. He looks perfectly normal. I think he's here because of her," she nodded her head toward another girl who sat at a different booth. She came in sporadically but always stayed for a whole afternoon reading a book.

"Why?" asked Zuko in astonishment. "Do you think he's stalking her? Is she in danger?"

Katara sighed. "Infatuation can be dangerous, but no, I think she's perfectly safe." She looked back at the boy and noticed he had been staring. She blushed quickly and looked away.

"Right, he's here for _her," _Zuko repeated in disbelief. He glared at the boy again who grinned cheekily at him.

When the boy made to pay Zuko cut in front of Katara before she could move.

"I'll get it," he said defensively. When she made to protest he added, "You can get the next group."

Katara watched as he made his way over to the boy and leaned low to talk to him.

"I haven't seen Zuko get this worked up in quite a while," said Iroh cheerily.

Katara jumped. She had not realized that the old man was standing behind her.

"What does he have to get worked up about? He's only buying tea." Said Katara, frowning as she watched the boy lean away from Zuko and whatever Zuko was telling him.

"I'm afraid that you were mistaken, Katara," said Iroh in the same cheery voice. He appeared to find the confrontation highly amusing. "It's not that girl that the boy is interested in. It is you."

Katara flushed and turned to examine the boy with renewed interest. "I doubt it," she said finally. "But what does that have to do with Zuko anyway?"

"Zuko can be highly protective of the people he loves," said Iroh simply.

Katara stared. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

Iroh repeated the statement and Katara shook her head. "That's impossible," she said flatly as she watched the boy all but run from the tea shop.

Iroh did not have the chance to answer before Zuko came storming to the back again. "Well," he said. "That should keep him away for a while."

Katara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why?" she asked. "What did you say to him?"

Zuko was still grinning, obliviously not aware of the danger he was in. "Just a little threat. Nothing major. I just-"

"Do you have any idea how well that guy tips?" Katara exploded angrily. "He was basically paying for our meals, and you chased him away!"

"Well maybe I wouldn't have had to if you weren't so-" Zuko paused, seemingly at a loss of how to describe whatever it was he thought Katara was.

"If I wasn't so what?" Katara asked angrily. When Zuko took too long to respond she glared at him before running into the street to find the boy Zuko had scared away.

She caught up with him a good ten blocks away from the tea shop. His face was pale and he was walking extremely fast, so much so that Katara had to jog to catch up with him.

"Hey," she said kindly. "Whatever Lee said to you back in the tea shop, he probably didn't mean it."

The boy stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before frowning. "Didn't sound like it," he mumbled.

"Why?" Katara asked suspiciously. "What did he say to you?"

The boy paled even more and shook his head. "I shouldn't-" he said.

"Really," said Katara, smiling sweetly. "I insist."

Katara led the boy away to a noodle shop where she bought both of them steaming bowls of soup. This appeared to calm him down a little and he was able to introduce himself as Maph.

His name reminded Katara of Toph and she quieted as she ate the noodles which were the only decent food she had eaten since the desert. Finally once she had made a sizeable dent in the amount of food left in her food she started talking to Maph again.

"Where are you from?" she asked curiously.

He named a town she had never heard of but she nodded as if she had.

She learned a lot talking to Maph, much of which was street gossip she would not have picked up on. What interested her enough were his tales of the Blue Spirit, which had taken to looting peoples' homes.

"What is the Blue Spirit?" she asked curiously. Perhaps it was an Earth Kingdom Legend she had never heard of.

"Oh," said Maph, his eyes lighting up eagerly. "It's a thief. No one's sure if it's human or not. My Grandpa says it is a spirit and it'd be better if we left it offerings and stuff like that, but my Da disagrees. He says it's just some street urchin who found a fancy mask and is good with swords." He shrugged. "I'm not sure myself, but your _friend _back at the tea shop said it's a spirit."

Katara raised her eyebrows. "Oh, he did, did he?" she asked. The only time she had ever seen Zuko and Maph exchange words had been when Maph had fled the tea shop in terror. "And what did he say about the Blue Spirit?"

Maph swallowed the noodles he had been slurping and said, "He said that the Blue Spirit was real, and if I wasn't careful, he'd send him after me because he can talk to him."

Katara sighed and rolled her eyes. The boy seated across from her suddenly seemed very young. "Did he say anything else?"

Maph nodded. "He said that he'd be keeping an eye on me and he knew my Grandpa, and my sister, and my Da's name."

Katara sighed again. She reached over and ruffled Maph's brown hair. "Don't worry about the Blue Spirit or Lee. He's just annoyed because you give me such great tips." She grinned and added, "thank you."

Maph shrugged and muttered, "Not like it got me anywhere."

Katara paused from getting up and said, "what?"

Maph blushed but he looked her straight in the eye and said, "I was wondering, if maybe you'd like to go out to dinner with me sometime."

Katara glanced at him in a measuring way before she said, "I don't think I'm ready for anything like that just yet."

Maph's face fell slightly, reminding her of Sokka's face whenever he was told that there was no more food. Katara hurried to correct her statement. "I mean," she said "I would love to be friends with you, but I- I hope you keep coming by the tea shop. I really do like seeing every day, and since we're friends, you don't have to tip me anymore. Although I think the owner might kill me if I started handing out free tea."

Maph grinned at her, this time reminding her of Aang's cheery disposition.

"And Maph," she said, and he turned to face her again. "Really, forget what Lee said. I'll be having words with him tonight. He won't bother you again."

Maph flushed. "It's fine," he mumbled. "Just forget about it. I don't need your protection."

"Well," Katara smiled. "I'm giving it to you anyway." She turned before she could see Maph's reaction and walked back to the tea shop.

….

"Where were you?" Zuko hissed at her angrily as soon she came back.

"That's none of your business," she sniffed. "Here," she took the tray of tea he was carrying and carried to the back table, to the girl who was still there, reading her book.

The girl looked up and smiled at her. Her soft brown eyes seemed to twinkle in the light. "Thanks," she said softly.

Katara smiled back, "No problem. Let me know if you need anything."

"Oh!" the girl said. "I have a question. Here, sit," she invited and Katara sat in the chair across from her.

"What's your question?" she asked.

"Are you and him-" the girl cocked her head back to where Zuko stood glaring at Katara, "you know, together?"

Katara's eyes widened as she realized what the girl was asking. "No," she shook her head as she repeated the word. "Not at all. Why?"

"So," the girl said slowly, "You wouldn't mind if I invited him to go somewhere with me?"

Katara laughed. She tried to picture Zuko on a date with the girl seated across from her, but she couldn't. She felt bad for the girl, being rejected would make her upset, but she was in no position to deny her the privilege of asking Zuko on a date. "No," she said, looking at the girl sadly. "I wouldn't mind as long he's here to help me during shop hours."

The girl laughed as well. "Thanks," she looked questioningly as Katara.

"Katara," she supplied.

The girl smiled again. "Thanks Katara. By the way, my name's Jin."

**A/N: Happy new year guys, thanks for reading! Review? **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry this is so late! And not as long as some of my chapters. If you're not too angry with me, I would really appreciate it if you reviewed! Un-betaed, any mistakes are my own. Sorry if there are a lot, I'm really tired! **

**Disclaimer: Not mine **

Katara smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Jin," she said. She was about to say more when she was interrupted by the tinkling bell that announced the arrival of more customers.

"Hang on," she said, and she stood to greet the new customers. As she poured them tea, she noticed Jin waving Zuko over to her table.

She tried to listen inconspicuously, and she heard Jin say, "go out with me?"

She strained to hear Zuko's reply. When she turned around she realized that the reason she couldn't hear his response was because he hadn't said anything. She tried to hide a grin at the shocked, slightly dumb expression on his face.

Finally, he stammered, "I- I- wha-"

He was interrupted by Iroh, who came bustling out of the kitchens to stand next to his nephew. "He'd love to!" he said cheerily.

She watched as Zuko turned bright red. Katara herslef felt her face growing warm, but she turned away before anyone saw. When she looked back, she saw Iroh wink at her.

"Wha-" she stared to ask him, but he simply smiled at her.

"Affection works in strange ways, my child," he told her while they were alone in the kitchen. "I think that this little date will help Zuko realize his true feelings."

"But he doesn't even know her!" Katara burst out.

Iroh continued to smile at her infuriatingly and shrugged his shoulders. "It depends on the way you think at things," he said. Before she could comment on his mysterious sentence, he shoved a tray full of tea into her arms and sent her back into the front of the shop with a merry wave.

When Katara passed Zuko on her way to give tea to the new customers, she noticed that he had an odd smile on his lips. While on her way back to the kitchen, she "accidentally" shoved Zuko. She was pleased to see that his smile was gone while she scolded him for being clumsy and dropping the tray of tea.

That night, Katara stayed up later than Zuko. She had decided that the best way to punish him for his treatment of Maph was to ignore him. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to bother him all that much. His infuriating smile was back, and he even helped Katara clean up from dinner.

When at last, the candle that Katara had been using for light ran out of wax, Katara moved to the window. The moon was particularly bright, and as she looked up at it, she could that it was almost full.

"You rise with the moon." Zuko's words replayed like an echo in her mind. She strained to see any sign of Yue within the moon's silvery depths, but she found none. She felt for her necklace, before she remembered that it was gone. She could only hope that Soka had found it; if she ever saw him again.

"What are you doing?"

She spun around to see Zuko standing behind her.

"Nothing," she shrugged.

Zuko moved closer until he was standing directly in front of her. "I'm sure you'll find it again soon," he said. She realized that her hand was still on her neck and she moved it away quickly.

"What?" she asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"The necklace," he replied softly. He made an unconscious movement, and reached to put his hand over his heart.

Katara nodded and folded her arms across her chest. "If I find Aang and the others again."

Zuko looked sad. "You will," he assured her.

"Are you going to see him again?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded. "I will capture the Avatar!" he said. The ferocity of his voice surprised Katara and she took a step backwards.

When Zuko made no further movements, she reached out and put her hand on his arm. "You don't have to," she said softly.

Zuko snorted. "You're just saying because he's your friend. You don't know what's at stake!"

"The world is at stake, Zuko!" Katara said angrily. "Don't you dare say I don't know what I could lose."

Zuko's face softened marginally. "It's my family, Katara." He said. "My family. I can't just abandon them."

Katara bit back a comment about Azula. Instead, she said, "It's my family too. Aang, Sokka, Toph… They're my family."

Zuko made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "That's different," he said. "You're not all related."

"Family is about more than just blood," Katara said softly.

"I have a duty to my nation, and to my family." Zuko replied proudly.

Katara turned and began walking to the bed. "I have a duty to mine as well," she smiled sadly at him before she lay down. "We'll have to wait and see."

…..

Katara awoke because someone was poking her. "Stop Sokka," she mumbled. She rolled over and tried to burrow under the covers when the poking persisted. "Sokka, stop!" she said angrily, and sat up. She blinked when she realized that it wasn't Sokka who had been poking her.

"Oh," she said lamely.

Zuko flushed. "It's time for work," he said before he turned away. "Hurry up."

The teashop was, if possible, even busier. It seemed that word travelled fast in Ba Sing Se and the line went out the door.

Katara was exhausted. She had barely gotten any sleep, and her orders were lagging behind. A few of the customers were grumbling at the slow service until Zuko took pity on her and took one o her tables.

"What's wrong with you?" he hissed at her as he grabbed a tray out of her hands to bring to a table.

"I'm tired," she said, barely stifling a yawn.

"So am I," he replied. "But I'm still functioning properly."

"Lucky you," Katara muttered sarcastically.

"Well can you go dunk your head in water or something?" he asked. "I need you to wake up and be faster." Katara noticed him grow pink as he mumbled, "my date with Jin is tonight."

Katara glared at him until he backed down. "I mean," he coughed. "Look, can you just help me?"

Katara shrugged and shuffled back to the kitchen, vowing to move as slowly as possible for the rest of her shift just to spite Zuko.

Maph came back. He grinned when Katara brought his tea over.

"Lee didn't scare you away?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I'm not afraid of him," said Maph bravely.

Katara turned to look for Zuko and found him glaring at Maph as he splashed tea out of a customer's cup which he had placed down too hard on the table.

Katara giggled when he turned red and hurried to get a rag to wipe it away.

"I know you said you wanted to be friends," said Maph slowly. "But I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come see a show with me tonight?"

Katara frowned.

"As friends." Maph added hastily.

Katara thought about Zuko on his date with Jin and she nodded. "Sure," she said. "I'll go with you as friends. "What's the show?"

Maph grinned. "It's a theater performance. It's in the town square. I think tonight's show is something to do with the founding of Ba Sing Se, but I'm not sure."

"I get off of work a around five. Meet me here at 5:15? Is the show fancy at all?" Katara asked uncertainly.

Maph shook his head. "No," he said. "What you're wearing now is fine."

"Okay," said Katara. She stood up and smiled at him. "I'll see you tonight, Maph."

Zuko appeared as if from nowhere right behind her and followed her into the kitchen. "You're seeing Math tonight?" he growled.

"Maph," Katara corrected. "Why do you care?"

Zuko looked away and mumbled, "just curious."

"What about you?" she asked. "Aren't you seeing Jin tonight?"

Zuko nodded. "She's meeting me here at six," he said while unconsciously flattening his hair.

"Well," said Katara, "that's nice."

They lapsed into an awkward silence, each fuming at the other's happiness.

XXX

"Sit still Zuko!" Iroh commanded angrily.

Katara had already changed out of her work clothes into a green skirt and shirt. Her usually braided hair had been let out and it floated freely down her back. She was watching, with great amusement as Iroh tried to tame Zuko's hair.

Iroh was holding and expensive looking ivory comb, which he had produced seemingly from nowhere. Next to him, he had a bowl of water, which he dipped the comb into and tried to comb Zuko's hair back.

"Ah!" said Zuko angrily, dodging out of the way as the comb hit a snarl in his hair. "I can comb my own hair, uncle!" he protested.

Iroh tsked softly. "Judging from the number of knots in your hair, you can't," he said as he made a wild movement and forced the comb through another section of Zuko's hair.

Katara slipped out of the house and made her way back to the teashop. Maph was already there, pacing nervously.

"Did you think I wasn't going to show up?" she asked.

Maph turned to look at her. "No," he said, and smiled. "You look great!"

Katara blushed. "Thank you," she said.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Maph. She nodded and he began walking towards the town square of the lower ring of Ba Sing Se.

As they passed the dilapidated houses, Katara wondered what the upper ring looked like. It must be better than the varying states of poverty that surrounded her as she walk next to Maph, who was chattering away excitedly.

The play itself was amateur. It didn't have much of a plot, and one actor forgot the majority of his lines. Still, Katara had a nice time. Maph would whisper things to her to make her laugh throughout the play, and when it was over, they stopped in a small restaurant. Maph paid for the food even though Katara had attempted to pay for her share.

While the food wasn't delicious, it was adequate and Katara enjoyed herself. However, at the back of her mind, she wondered what Zuko was doing on his date with Jin. He was probably being quiet and botching his words whenever he spoke. For some odd reason, this thought comforted Katara and she smiled at whatever story Maph had been telling her.

Maph walked her back to the teashop. "Thanks for this, Maph," said Katara. "I had a great time." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

He reached up to touch where her lips had touched his skin and she smiled at him. "I'll see you around," she said.

He beamed at her. "Tomorrow," he said cheerfully.

"Tomorrow," Katara repeated. She turned and walked down the small street to the small house that she, Zuko, and Iroh shared.

She opened the door and found Iroh sitting alone reading. "Is Zuko no back yet?" she asked.

Iroh shook his head. "I think he will be soon though," he said. He sounded distant, but he said nothing was wrong when Katara asked him.

Katara sat down. She felt restless. She looked enviously at the book that Iroh was reading and began fiddling with her hair, continuously braiding it and unbraiding it.

She looked up when the door opened and Zuko entered. He looked peaceful and almost happy. His hair was back to its usual messy state, and his eyes had an oddly glazed look to them.

"How was your date?" Iroh asked.

Zuko turned to look at him. "It was… nice," he answered. He looked at Katara. "How was yours?"

She smiled. "It was nice," she repeated his own words back to him.

Simultaneously, they said, "I'm going to go to bed." Iroh merely chuckled.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I have parts of the next few chapters planned already! Things are about to get exciting! Review please! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Look, I updated less than a month after my last one! Un-betaed, any mistakes are mine. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine. **

The next few weeks passed by quickly. Katara noticed that Jin didn't drop by the shop anymore. She wondered what had happened, but she never broached the subject out of respect for Zuko's privacy.

Maph still came almost every day. He was a nice change from Zuko's brooding silence and Katara enjoyed the time she spent with him. He explained Ba Sing Se's history in detail, and once even took her to the zoo.

Iroh had finally amassed enough money to buy the teashop from its owner. He and Katara stayed up late many nights pondering names. Zuko had been invited to join in, but he declined, announcing any name either of them came up with "stupid."

Katara noticed that despite his silence and occasional glares, he had grown calmer during their time in Ba Sing Se. Occasionally, he would smile at something she or Iroh had said. Once she even heard him humming to himself, but he stopped as soon as he realized she could hear him.

XXX

Zuko was walking through the upper ring of Ba Sing Se when he saw it. He had been sent out on a mission by Iroh to find a new set of tea cups for the shop. Iroh had jotted down a name and address for Zuko to find while Iroh and Katara stayed to watch the shop.

The wall he passed was coated with pictures of the Avatar's flying creature. Beneath it was the word "MISSING" written in large letters.

"The Avatar," he breathed to himself. He was here, in the same city as Zuko, just waiting for Zuko to come find him.

On instinct, Zuko spun around in a circle looking for the him. Seeing no one, he reached up and pulled down one of the flyers. There, written below the animal's picture, was the Avatar's address. All Zuko had to do was go find him and bring him back home, and his honor would be restored.

Unbidden, an image of Katara popped into his head. Instantly, he began to panic. If the Avatar was here, that meant she would want to go find him.

Zuko stood still for a long time as he weighed his options. He no longer felt the all consuming need to recapture the Avatar, for the first time in his life he was content where he was.

Finally, he folded up the flyer and stuffed it into his breast pocket, his mind was made up.

XXX

Katara was sweeping the shop when Zuko came back. He went to the kitchen first, to drop off the tea cups. When he came she noticed he had an odd steely gleam to his eyes, one she recognized from when he was chasing after them. Without warning, he marched over to where she standing and pressed his lips to hers.

She let a little "oh" of surprise and dropped the broom she had been holding. It fell to the ground with a loud clatter, and before she could register what had happened, Zuko stopped kissing her. He bent down and held the broom out to her. When she made no move to take it, he simply leaned it against the wall and left.

Katara walked slowly to the door to peer out of it, but Zuko had gone. She frowned as she went to sit down in a chair, the sweeping forgotten. Quietly, she touched her lips, which Zuko had just kissed, She couldn't fathom the meaning of the kiss. For some reason, Zuko had looked angry, but also, now that Katara had time to analyze it, nervous.

She wasn't sure what he would have to be angry, or scared about. As far as she knew, everything was going well. Iroh finally had his own business and life was peaceful.

"Iroh," she called, "I'm going out."

"Be careful!" Iroh called back from the kitchen, and Katara left.

She was walking when someone jumped down behind her. She wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been looking through a window's reflection. Quickly, she spun around to confront the attacker. She gasped. "I thought I told you to stay away from me," she said angrily.

"You did," said Jet cheerfully. "Quite rudely, I might add."

She glowered at him before saying, "Go away."

He shrugged. "I could, but why would I? It's such a nice day to take a walk around Ba Sing Se with my good friend Katara."

"I mean it," she said angrily.

They were in a square, with buildings on all sides. In the center, was a small fountain which trickled away merrily. Jet shrugged again, still smiling.

"You seem grumpy today," he commented.

"I am grumpy," Katara retorted. The water level of the fountain began to rise dangerously and Jet raised his hands in an easy "I surrender" motion.

"Hey," he said. "I'm not trying to start a fight here."

"Yeah?" asked Katara. "Then maybe you should leave." The water rose even higher to prove her point.

"Fine, fine," said Jet. "I'll leave. Come find me once you decide to ditch the fire-losers though. I'm everywhere."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that," Katara called after him sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes at his retreating back, all thoughts of Zuko gone from her mind.

XXX

Neither Zuko nor Katara said anything about the kiss that night when they were in the same room as Iroh. They simply did not talk for the whole night. It wasn't until they were going to sleep that Zuko finally spoke.

"I don't want you going out anymore," he said gruffly.

Katara raised her eyebrows at him. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's dangerous," he replied.

She made a dismissive noise. "Well, it's not like you can stop me," she said. "Who gave you the right to dictate where I go anyway?"

"I can stop you!" said Zuko hotly. He reached out and grabbed Katara's hair, wrapping it around his wrist as he had when he kept her prisoner.

"Ow, Zu- Lee!," Katara said angrily. "What is your problem? Let go of me!"

"Just go to sleep, Katara," said Zuko roughly. He ignored her for the rest of the night in her vain attempts to disentangle herself from his wrist. Finally, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

In her dream, she was flying on Appa with Aang, Sokka, and Toph. It was Aang who was at the reins, and Katara sat with Toph and Sokka in the saddle. Sokka was eating while Toph sat in the corner, sleeping.

"Aang," Katara called. "Where are we going?"

Aang turned to face her and Katara recoiled at the sight. On one eye was a horrible burn which looked identical to the one that Zuko wore. "We're going to capture Zuko," Aang replied. His eyes narrowed as he said Zuko's name, and he was almost unrecognizable as the little boy that Katara knew so well.

"Wh- why are we going to do that?" Katara stammered.

"So I can regain my honor," Aang replied. "So I can get back to the Air Temple and my family."

"But Aang," Katara protested. "You don't need honor! You're amazing the way you are. And you don't need the Air temple, you have us. Me, Sokka, Toph, we're your family!"

Aang shook his head. "You wouldn't understand, Katara," he said. "You're just a water peasant, me, I'm the Avatar. I'm like a Prince, a King! I don't need you."

"Aang!" Katara screamed. "I love you Aang, why are you doing this? It's not right!"

Katara woke up, sweating.

XXX

The next day, Katara tried to leave the tea shop on her break hours, but Zuko insisted on accompanying her.

"I can go by myself!" she protested angrily as he walked next to her.

He said nothing, but still followed her wherever she went.

That night, before she went to bed, she tucked a knife into her shirt sleeve. As she had predicted, Zuko wrapped her hair around his hand again so she wouldn't try and leave.

She waited until she heard his steady breathing to signify that he was asleep. Softly, she shook him, but he didn't wake. Feeling relieved, she reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out the knife she had stored away.

She felt like crying as she sawed off the hair connecting her to Zuko, until it was all gone. She felt free, lighter. When she stole out of the small shack, taking only a handful of coins with her, she saw her reflection in the moonlit window. Her once waist length hair now barely came down below her shoulders.

She really did cry as the walked through the deserted streets of Ba Sing Se. Her long hair had symbolized a water nation tradition, and she had cut it off. She felt out of place, with out her mother's necklace, in strange green clothing, and without her hair.

When she reached the square where she had stood two days previously, she called out into the darkness, "Jet?"

Almost instantly, a hooded figure dropped down from a building and began approaching her. He lifted his hood back and Katara saw his trademark smirk.

"Well, well," Katara," he said. "Glad you could join me."

**A/N: Review? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Not mine **

**A/N: Wow, this took a while to get posted. I'm really really really sorry, I don't even have a good excuse. I hope you like it! (Sorry it's so short) **

Katara took an unconscious step backwards. Jet was grinning at her. "What happened?" he asked. "Trouble in your fire bender land?"

"He's not a fire bender," said Katara defensively.

Jet smirked. "Okay," he said sarcastically.

"He's not!" said Katara. She was already beginning to regret her decision.

Jet shrugged infuriatingly. "Regardless," he prompted. "You've decided to join the freedom fighters?"

"I-" Katara fingered her short hair quickly before replying, "Yes. For a time. But once I find Aang, I'm leaving."

"Find?" Jet asked curiously.

Katara shook her head and crossed her arms. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Ah," said Jet happily. "Follow me."

Jet led Katara down a multitude of winding streets. She was quite certain it would take her hours to find her way back to Zuko. She had never quite realized just how large Ba Sing Se was.

They wound in front of what looked like a fairly beaten shed.

"What is this?" Katara asked skeptically as she eyed the whole thing with distaste.

Jet flashed her a grin. "This," he said proudly, "is the headquarters of the Freedom Fighters!" He rapped the door with his knuckles in a long and complicated pattern.

It swung open to reveal Longshot. He stared at Katara and Jet dully.

"You got a haircut," he told Katara.

She nodded; nervously bringing her hand up to touch her dramatically shortened hair.

"S'nice," he grunted.

She smiled nervously. "Thank you."

"Okay," said Jet impatiently. "Enough chatting, go in!" 

Katara had to duck to get through doorway. Jet followed her quickly. One glance around the whole shed and Katara realized that the room she had shared wit Zuko and Iroh was a palace compared to her new living arrangements. The whole floor was covered in blankets which Jet, Longshot and Smellerbee had apparently been sleeping under.

"Where am I going to sleep?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find room," said Jet.

XXX

When Katara woke the next morning her whole body was sore. She had spent the whole night being simultaneously pushed into Jet's back and Smellerbee's feet. She vowed to sleep outside the next night. She longed to be back with Aang, Sokka and Toph, camping outside in a soft, comfortable sleeping roll made of soft fur. An innovation from the Water tribes that desperately needed to be replicated in other Kingdoms.

"What are we doing today?" she asked Jet as she stretched. Her back made a disconcerting cracking noise as she raised both arms over her head.

"We plan," said Jet happily. "Now we have you on our side we can come up with a plan to expose the fire benders you were with!"

"They're not fire benders!" Katara protested angrily. "And I'm not going to plot against them!"

"So why are you here with me?" Jet asked, smirking knowingly at her.

"What- I- I, not important," Katara spluttered.

"What were you doing with them then?" Jet asked.

Katara frowned at him. "Not that it should matter to you, but we were traveling together. Lee and I met in an Earth Kingdom and I agreed to come here with him."

Jet cleared his throat. "What about your righteous little Avatar mission?" he asked. "Did you give up on that then?"

"No!" sad Katara forcefully. "I would never-"

Jet stretched and cracked all of his knuckles one by one in a painstakingly careful fashion. "I never thought you would be the one to leave," he said idly. "I thought it would be your brother, actually. He was more flaky than you," he shot her a smug glance. "I guess people change, huh?"

'Hitting him will not help you, hitting him will not help you,' Katara repeated the mantra in her head until it was clear of violent thoughts.

"Neither Sokka, nor I would _ever_ abandon Aang," she said in a dangerously low voice. One which Jet chose to ignore.

"If you didn't abandon him?" he asked. "Then why are you here with me, and not on a mission with your precious Aang?"

This comment was met with Katara's fist. They was a pause as Jet stared at her, and then, almost comically, collapsed in a heap on the floor.

**A/N: Review? Reviews make Zuko track Jet down faster **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Not mine **

**A/N: Look at how fast I posted this! Maybe this will make up for the long gap from before? (Not really, I know. Sorry!) Unbetaed, any mistakes are my own. **

Katara glanced down at her hand. She was glad she had remembered to keep her thumb outside, or she was sure would have broken it. Her eyes swept over the small space, she was relieved to see that Smellerbbe and Longshot were still asleep.

She stepped over Jet's still form and into the street. She seemed to be in the most dilapidated part of the third ring of Ba Sing Se. All around her people were dressed in rags. She was suddenly self-conscious of her clothes. They were still clean and looked out of place amongst the filth. She was tempted to turn around and go inside. At least then she would have people she was half certain would protect her.

She thought back to what Jet had said and decided against it. She turned left and began walking. Every once in while she would stop to ask someone for directions. No one ever responded and she was left meandering down the twists and turns of alleys.

As she walked she was sure she felt someone watching her, but whenever she turned around there was never anyone there. Her short hair was constantly getting in her face. She wished she could tie it back again, but she didn't have anything to tie it back with. Now more than ever, she wished she still had her mother's necklace. Its absence was laying on her heavily. However, when she remembered that Sokka would be holding onto it, she relaxed minimally. Her mother would be pleased that at least one of her children held onto the necklace.

The streets were lined with muddy water that Katara began to bend out of sheer boredom. She was even more lost than when she had left Jet. She felt like crying. She wished she were back with Aang, Sokka, and Toph. She wished she could go bury her head in Appa's fur like she sometimes did when she was upset. She even wished she were back with Iroh and Zuko, serving tea to customers.

Her stomach was rumbling. She realized she hadn't eaten since the morning before. Gathering all of her pride, she knocked on the door of one of the houses. It swung open to reveal an extremely worn out looking woman. She had bags under her eyes and a small child on her hip.

"What?" she asked harshly as soon as she saw Katara.

"Oh," said Katara. "I was just, um wondering if you had any spare food."

The woman eyed her for a moment. "What's the matter? You can't _afford_ it?" she sneered on the words.

Katara looked down at her clothes and realized how she must appear. "Please," she said. "I could trade you something. She searched her pockets and found a small copper coin.

The woman glanced at it. "That'll get you a grape," she said.

Katara sighed. "I could help out around the house," she offered. "Please, I'm lost. My family left without me."

The woman softened for a moment. Finally she said, "Give me your clothes and I'll give you some food."

"My clothes?" Katara asked. "No, I can't."

"Sorry," said the woman. The door was almost closed when Katara stuck her foot between the door and the wall.

"If I give you these, could I have the clothes you're wearing?" she asked. She looked at the woman's grey tatters with distaste.

The woman shrugged. "Sure."

Katara sighed in relief. The woman went back inside and Katara followed. She looked around the one room hovel. There was a small fire blazing in the hearth. Two other small children were lying on the rug playing a hand game. Katara smiled at them but the shrank back in fear.

"Here," the woman came back and handed Katara a bundle of grey cloth.

"Thank you," said Katara, smiling at her. The woman didn't smile back. "Here," said Katara. She took off her shirt and handed it to the woman, who looked at it almost reverently. Slowly a smile spread across her face and Katara realized she had overestimated her age. She could be no more than a few years than Zuko.

Katara took what she thought was a shirt from the gray pile and slipped it on. The whole thing felt dirty. Feeling self-conscious, she took her pants off and handed them to the woman as well. Quickly, she pulled on the grey skirt that woman had been wearing.

"The food?" she asked quickly.

The woman sighed and turned around to reach under the small counter. She reemerged with a small loaf of bread and an apple.

"Thank you," said Katara. She bit into the bread hungrily. It was stale, but not intolerable, and it sated her hunger.

She must have looked miserable because finally the woman said, "Here, why don't you spend the night here? It looks like it's going to rain."

Katara smiled. "Really?" she asked. "Are you sure?"

The woman nodded.

"Thank you," said Katara. She held out her hand. "My name is Katara."

The woman smiled somewhat. "My name is Kaya. And this is Jiji," she nodded to the child she had been holding earlier. "And Xiao Li, and Hana," she nodded to the children on the floor.

Katara smiled at all of them. "Where are you from?" she asked Kaya.

Kaya didn't answer right away. Finally she said, "my village was called Faa, but the Fire nation attacked. I lost my husband, my sister, and my father. So I came here with my son, Jiji and my nieces and nephews, Xiao Li and Hana."

Katara bowed her head somberly. "I'm sorry," she said. "The fire nation took my mother as well."

Kaya looked at her questioningly, staring at her foreign blue eyes. "You're from the water nation," she said finally.

Katara smiled. "Yes," she said. "I am."

Kaya stared at her. "I've never met someone from there," she said. "Is it true that you all live in igloos and buildings made of ice?"

Katara nodded. "Yes," she replied. "It's true."

"Wow," Kaya breathed. "I've always wondered what it was like, tell me more!"

Katara smiled and paused to think before she began speaking.

XXX

Jet was not having a good day. He woke when Smellerbee began poking him painfully in the side. "What?" he groaned.

"There's someone here to see you," she answered. She stared at Jet for a bit too long until her finally snapped.

"What are you looking at?" he growled at her.

She frowned at him. "You sure do have a shiner," she said. "What happened to you?"

Jet frowned and didn't answer. He did not feel like admitting that he had been knocked out by a girl around three years younger than him. "Nothing," he snapped. "Who's here to see me?"

Smellerbee frowned and shrugged. "Dunno," she replied. "Some guy in a blue mask. He seems pretty insistent."

Jet sighed. "Alright," he said. "Tell him to meet me in the alley around the corner. It's a bit cramped in here." He stood and went to the door Up ahead of him he could see the outline of a person dressed entirely in black, the bright blue of a mask stood out prominently against the outfit and the person's dark hair.

Before Jet left, he slipped a small knife up his sleeve. They were always useful to have.

**A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I read all of them, they are so lovely to read. And thank you for adding my story to story alerts, or favorites. It means a lot to me! I would love it if you reviewed! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Not mine **

**A/N: un betaed, any mistakes are my own. **

The Blue Spirit was waiting at the end of the street when he saw Jet emerge from the small hovel in which he lived. He slipped into the shadows of a building and waited until Jet was in the middle of the street. Cautiously, he jumped behind him and held both of his double swords against Jet's throat.

"Where is she?" he growled.

When Jet struggled, he brought the blades in tighter until there was a small stream of blood running down Jet's neck.

"Who?" asked Jet.

"You know who," the Blue Spirit answered harshly. "Now tell me!"

"Smellerbee?" asked Jet. "You were just talking to-" he stopped as the Blue Spirit moved in closer.

"Don't toy with me," the Blue Spirit whispered. "You know where she is, and you're going to tell me."

Silently, Jet reached into his sleeve as he tried to stall for more time.

XXX

Katara woke the next morning feeling sore. She was about to ask Zuko why she was on the floor when the memories of the previous day's events came rushing back to her.

Cautiously, she looked around. Kaya and the children were asleep next to her. She had to work hard to disentangle herself from the other bodies and tip toe to the door.

The sun was just rising. Already, people were spilling from the houses that lined the streets. Katara blended in with them immediately. Her grey clothes were unnoticeable amongst the others.

"Excuse me," she tapped someone on the shoulder. "Would you mind telling me how to get to," she paused, trying to think of a well known location, "the upper ring?"

The man let out a sharp bark of laughter. "What would someone like you want there?"

Katara stiffened. "Why can't I go there?" she asked.

The man elbowed his neighbor. "Listen to this," he said. "The girl wants to go to the Upper ring."

The man next to him laughed. "Poor little thing," he said, and kept walking.

"Please," said Katara. "If you would just tell me how to get there, I'll manage on my own from there."

The man was still laughing and she had to wait for him to calm before he answered her. "Why of course," he said. "Anything for a _rich, high class lady," _this made him erupt into another fit of laughter.

Katara was affronted. "Fine." She muttered. "I'll find it myself."

"Wait," the man said. "Here, I'll tell you. You go up this street, make a right, then the second left, and then the first right. Walk straight for three streets; make a right, a left, then another right. Then walk straight and you'll reach the border."

"Thank you!" said Katara. She repeated the directions to herself twice and watched as the man blended back in with the crowd.

She followed his directions precisely, and soon found herself in recognizable territory. She reached a familiar corner and became stuck at a crossroads.

She could turn left, and go back to Zuko, or she could keep going straight and attempt to find transportation to Omashu. She was certain King Bumi would help her.

People here were giving her odd looks. She realized her clothing did not fit in at all. Sighing, she turned left.

XXX

She was relieved to find that neither Iroh nor Zuko were home. She assumed they must be working in the tea shop. Frantically, she searched through the house looking for her spare set of clothing. While looking through Iroh's things, she found a small purse filled with golden coins.

She grimaced before taking five. She did not like stealing, but she was desperate. Next, she searched through Zuko's pack. Inside, she found a bundle of black fabric which, after noticing what looked like dried blood near a small hole in the fabric, she did not inspect further.

She was thrilled to find a spare set of green clothing also hidden within the depths of Zuko's pack. She slipped out of her grey clothing gratefully and changed.

Zuko's clothing was much to big for her. The pants fell down almost comically as soon as she put them on. This was remedied by a large belt which served to hold the pants up, as well as the shirt which at first fell much too far down.

"Ah, Katara."

Katara froze and turned around slowly. "Iroh," she greeted stiffly.

Iroh smiled at her. "I am so glad to see that you are safe."

"Thank you for your concern," said Katara. Her mind wandered to the coins that were now stowed safely away in a pants pocket.

"You're welcome to anything that is mine," said Iroh, as if reading her mind.

"Oh, I- wouldn't, I-" Katara stammered.

"Relax," said Iroh gently. "My nephew and I owe at least a few gold coins, do not worry about it." He glanced at her outfit. "I assume this means you are leaving again?"

Katara nodded.

"I must say," said Iroh. "I do love your short hair."

"Katara smiled sadly at touched the tips of her hair self consciously.

Iroh sighed. "I am sorry for the circumstances which brought about the change," said Iroh somberly. "Yes," he said. "I know," when Katara looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry, Iroh," said Katara. "You are a wonderful person, but I can't be trapped any longer. You bother offered me freedom to go find my friends, and I am going to take it."

"I- my nephew can be foolish sometimes," said Iroh. "It can take him a very long time to realize his mistakes. Please do not judge him for his actions. You mean more to him than he would ever say. So as a foolish old man's request, I would really appreciate it if you stayed with us for a little while longer. You might not be able to see it, but you have effected a tremendous change in my nephew."

"I- I can't, I'm sorry." Said Katara.

"I thought you might say that," said Iroh. "Very well then I have something to show you."

"Yes?" asked Katara.

Iroh reached into his inner breast pocket and pulled out a large sign. He turned it around to show it to Katara, who let out a loud gasp. There, featured prominently in the center of the page was a large drawing of her face. Underneath was the word "Missing" written in large characters.

**A/N: Reviews make Zutara happen within the next one or two chapters! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Not mine **

"Where did you get this?" asked Katara, reaching for it. In the picture, she was still wearing her blue water tribe clothing, and her hair was still long and braided.

"What?" asked Katara. Whoever had drawn her had obviously never seen her in person. She nose was much too large and covered a large proportion of her face, and her eyes were drawn more grey than their natural bright blue.

"It appears your friends are here," said Iroh. "And they are looking for you."

"Sokka," said Katara happily. "Aang, Toph, they're all okay." She grinned at Iroh and flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Iroh patted her gently on the back. "Be good child. I daresay my nephew will not take kindly to your reunion with the Avatar"

Katara's smile faded slightly. "Will you- will you tell him that I'm sorry?" she asked hesitantly.

"You can always tell him yourself," said Iroh. "He should be coming home very soon."

"He is?" asked Katara, glancing around nervously. "I should go then."

She froze as the door began to open and began looking around for an escape route. Unfortunately, the only other exit besides the door was the window. Feeling irrational, Katara dove beneath the bed just as Zuko entered the room.

"Were you talking to someone, Uncle?" he asked.

"No," said Iroh. Katara heard the rustling of paper and assumed he was attempting to push the missing poster out of sight.

"What is this?" she heard Zuko ask. More rustling. "What do you have this for?" Zuko demanded angrily.

"I thought you might like to see it," replied Iroh. "Apparently not."

"This is stupid," Zuko exclaimed. "She could be anywhere in this stupid city! She shouldn't have left."

"Maybe you shouldn't have pushed her away," said Iroh mildly.

"Bah," said Zuko. "I did not push her away!"

Katara heard him sit down on the bed and she cringed, watching as the bed sank slightly beneath his weight.

"Ah Zuko, would you come look at this?" Iroh asked, shooting a nervous Katara under the bed.

"I'm not looking at anymore tea, Uncle!" said Zuko angrily.

"And to think I let you handle so much wonderful tea all day," sad Iroh wth a mock sigh. "But I really do need you to come over here, please?"

"Fine," Zuko groaned. The bed creaked as he got up and Katara let out a sigh of relief.

Quietly, she crawled to the edge of the bed and peered out from under it. She saw Zuko and Iroh in the corner, Zuko with his back to her.

As quickly as she could, she crept out from under the bed and ran out the door, stopping only to grab the missing poster from the table.

As she left she heard Zuko say, "What is the point of showing me an empty tea cup? Why do you even have one in your pocket?"

XXX

Katara ran as fast as she could until she had reached the border of the lower ring and the upper ring. Then, she unrolled the poster again to examine the writing beneath her own picture. It gave her an address, which she eagerly began looking for.

Unfortunately, the address was listed as 1007 Da Tian Road, which, as it turned out, was very long. Katara started at the small number one despairingly and looked ahead at the rows of seemingly endless houses.

Katara trudged up the road, Zuko had began intruding her thoughts, and now he was all she could think about. She had not given his kiss much thought because of how quickly everything else had happened, but now it appeared she had all the time in the world to ponder his actions.

It wasn't until she had reached house number 611 that she realized she was being followed. She cast a surreptitious glance over her shoulder in attempt to find her pursuer, but she was unable to see anyone.

At house number 708, she caught a brief glimpse of familiar green fabric, and her heart sank. Zuko. She almost turned around to confront, but she thought better of it. Instead she kept walking, yet she kept all of her attention focused on the man walking quietly a few yard behind her.

When she finally reached the address listed on her own "missing" poster, Katara took a moment to stare at the house. She was always used to getting special treatment when travelling with Aang, but now, looking at the large building n front of her, she couldn't get the image of Kaya's small hut, or even the one room she had shared with Zuko and Iroh. It seemed so unfair that she and her friends would be able to live in this luxurious house while others suffered.

Katara sank to the ground, leaning against the rough stone wall that surrounded the house. She closed her eyes momentarily and thought over her options. A small part of her mind was protesting loudly. She shouldn't even be thinking anything over, as there should really only be one option: return to Aang, Sokka, and Toph; her family. Yet a small part of her longed to return to the easy days of serving tea the citizens of Ba Sing Se with Zuko and Iroh.

"Katara."

Katara opened her eyes and found herself staring at Zuko. She stood up immediately. "Yes?" she asked, trying to sound more calm than she felt.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked, his voice tight with barely contained anger.

"I came to see my brother," she replied.

"Oh, and your boyfriend?" he asked mockingly.

She frowned. "What on earth are you talking about Zuko?" she asked.

"What?" he said. "You think I don't know about you and the Avatar."

"Wh-" realization dawned on Katara. "Aang, and me?" she asked, and laughed.

Zuko let out a sound that sounded surprisingly close to a growl. "What?" he asked.

"You thought we were _together?" _Katara asked incredulously.

Zuko scratched his head awkwardly. "I-"

"Look,, Zuko," said Katara. "My family is in that building, so I'm going to go."

Zuko recovered from his embarrassment fairly quickly. "Oh," he said. "You want to go be reunited with your close knit little family. Is that why you were sitting outside the wall, like an outsider?"

"Zuko, just drop it, okay?" said Katara angrily.

"Wait." He grabbed her hand. "Katara," he said, but he didn't continue. He seemed at a loss for words."

Katara wrenched her hand away. "Leave me alone, Zuko. Leave _us _alone. No," she turned back around to face him, her eyes blazing. "No, you know what I want to know? Why did you keep this from me?" She held up the poster.

"Because, I-" Zuko paused and took a tentative step towards her. "You were going to leave."

Katara shrugged. "Maybe," she said sadly. "Maybe you could have come with me." She took another step forwards to fill the gap between herself and Zuko. "You're a good person, Zuko." She said. "An honorable person. But this? Hiding my family away from me? It was despicable."

Zuko frowned at her. "I'm not honorable," he said. "I-"

"Shh," said Katara. She stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck.

"What are you doing?" he asked cautiously. His breath tickled her hair.

"Shh," she repeated. Cautiously, she moved her lips to his. This time, was different. It took him a moment to respond, but he did so very enthusiastically. Neither of them held anything back, and for the first time in a long time Katara felt perfectly content.

The kiss ended too soon, and Katara let go of Zuko quickly. "Be good," she whispered in his ear. "Make the right decisions."

Before he could react, she turned and ran up to the front door of the house, and, taking a deep breath, knocked three times on the door.

**A/N: Thank you for all of your amazing reviews. They all made me smile. Sorry if the ending got a little sappy. **

**I even put some Zutara in this chapter! Aren't yall happy? Review? **


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